It’s easy to see why there’s growing talk of a tax revolt in Canada – taxpayers are getting a raw deal.

There’s seemingly no limit to what the government will spend our money on or how poorly the funds will be accounted for. Consider some of the many causes of frustration.

When everyday taxpayers have to drive their car for work purposes, they’re often reimbursed 30-40 cents per kilometre. Yet when politicians and government employees drive their car for work they often receive 50 cents per kilometre.

And when government employees arrive at work, they also get paid more. Many studies show bureaucrats are often paid 10 per cent or more than the someone doing similar work outside of government.

Plus, while most people working outside government don’t have a workplace pension plan, almost everyone who works for the government has the costliest type of pension plan out there; a defined benefit plan. Imagine if your employer contributed $8,000 or so every year towards your retirement.

The little things burn taxpayers too. While the masses (no pun intended) receive Good Friday off, government employees also tend to receive Easter Monday as well. People outside government take seven sick and disability days per year, but Statistics Canada data shows the average government employee takes 11 days.

Higher pay, golden pensions, more sick leave and extra holidays – why don’t we all go work for the government?

And then there are the boondoggles and expenditures on activities many of us would prefer not to fund.

The feds have been busy handing over millions of dollars to Bombardier and other large corporate welfare junkies. Don’t worry, we’re told – the Bombardier funds are a “loan.” Except of course Bombardier routinely goes to court to block attempts to find out how much they’ve paid back to the government for previous loans.

The Trudeau government also just gave a student from McGill University $48,923 to examine “The arts against postracialism: Strengthening resistance against contemporary Canadian Blackface.”

Is there a blackface epidemic plaguing our country that has somehow gone under the radar?

In Calgary, the city recently spent $500,000 on a new “art” exhibit that looks like a collapsed office building (try Googling “Bowfort Towers”). Rightfully so, the exhibit has attracted waves of criticism. Perhaps the structure could serve as a memorial for the death of common sense?

It’s easy to see why journalists are writing about tax revolts and citizens are contacting the Canadian Taxpayers Federation about tax revoltwebsites they’ve started. The examples mentioned in this column are only the tip of the iceberg. Incredibly, governments continue to raise existing taxes and muse about creating even more new taxes for citizens to pay.

Taxpayers are getting restless, very restless and there’s data to back up this frustration.

Research released by Edelman earlier this year showed Canadians’ trust in government dropped from 53 per cent last year to 43 per cent this year.

The question is, which politician will harness this frustration? Will a politician finally scale back government largesse, eliminate corporate welfare and focus spending on the priorities of everyday Canadians?

There appears to be a pot of gold in votes if someone steps forward and commits to do just that.

Colin Craig is the Interim Alberta Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
This column was published by Sun Media on October 27, 2017