Teaching Teens about Taxes

(NC)—Teenagers work to buy stuff, not to pay taxes. So it can be a real shock when kids open up their first paycheque and see part of it going to taxes. After all, what the heck does a 16-year-old kid need to pay taxes for, or even care?

Lance Blomme, a high school teacher in the Okanagan region of British Columbia, helps students answer that question every day by using facts and figures from a new course on taxation and responsible citizenship produced by the Canada Revenue Agency in collaboration with provincial and territorial tax administrations, for high school students across Canada.

“Some of these kids are working part-time and paying income tax themselves, or living with parents who pay tax, so they’re really starting to make the connection between paying taxes and getting things, like clean, fresh drinking water, computers at school, their local hockey rink, or a trip to the doctor. It’s like they’re connecting the dots,” says Mr. Blomme.

One of the most interesting exercises in the course is getting kids to list everything they do in a day, and then to research how those activities are paid for by tax dollars, and by which level of government. For example, students learn the water they shower in is treated at municipal wastewater treatment facilities, the food they eat for lunch is inspected by the federal Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the bus they take to school has to meet provincial safety standards, all of which is paid for by tax dollars.

“Everyone has to pay taxes at some point in their lives, so this gets kids thinking early on about what that really means, and what their role is in contributing to a safe and functioning society,” says Mr. Blomme.

The course has all kinds of informative and entertaining material to help make taxation more interesting for these taxpayers-in-training. What seems like one of the driest topics on earth for teenagers is actually hitting home. There are funny cartoons, quizzes, exercises, group assignments and research projects for kids to complete.

Teachers, parents and anyone else interested in teaching kids about taxation and responsible citizenship can order a copy of the course by calling the Canada Revenue Agency at 1-800-959-2221, or 1-800-O-CANADA.