EI and CPP premium hikes kick in next week
Thanks to increases in employment insurance and Canada Pension Plan deductions your paycheque is going to shrink starting Jan. 1.
The EI rate rises from 1.78 per cent to 1.83 per cent for employees, who will also see maximum insurable earnings rise to $45,900 from $44,200, the federation says.
Meanwhile, the maximum pensionable earnings rise to $50,100 from $48,300, bringing the total individual payroll tax hit to $142 for those workers who qualify for the maximum over the year.
For employers, the EI rate will increase to 2.56 per cent from 2.46 per cent, which, along with the corresponding increases in maximum EI and CPP amounts, will bring contributions up by further $164 per employee.
Click here for a detailed breakdown. The numbers vary slightly, depending on how provinces factor in inflation.
Payroll taxes are jumping again largely because the federal government has yet to tackle our broken EI program, maintains Gregory Thomas, CTF federal director.
Other critics question whether it makes sense to increase payroll taxes when unemployment remains high.
“EI payroll taxes are going to go up to keep the fund financed because the program has little to do with an actual ‘insurance’ program, reflecting the risk of unemployment in premiums,” Thomas adds.
Does a bump in payroll taxes matter to you?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: GenXer | Dec 30, 2021 9:02:53 AM
I believe that we must continue to increase CPP premiums to ensure that we fund the CPP system properly. With the huge wave of people now entering their retirement years, this number can only keep going up. I have no issue with this as long as it is done slowly, with minor increases like this one each year. I am one of the lucky ones that maxes out my contributions by July each year and I use the larger paychecks from July-Dec to put aside savings each year. It is the easiest and most painless way to save a few thousand every year.
Posted by: Northern Ontario | Jan 3, 2022 10:53:13 AM
I agree with GenXer.
People must also remember that your pay check will also seem much smaller now because the EI and CPP was likely not deducted for the past several months since you were maxed out in August/Sept. You start from scratch again thus making your take home pay less then December.