Well, what a hell of a night it was on April 22, 2025 in Vancouver, BC. Perhaps some think that I should have been home in Calgary, AB helping out my colleagues finish up tax season with April 30 looming and no extensions in sight but, nope, I instead was at BC Place, watching one of the greatest rock bands of all time tear it up on stage with two of my sons.  

 

AC/DC, still rocking after all these years, brought more than just blistering guitars and cannon blasts, which were very loud! Their setlist, as usual, felt oddly prophetic—almost like a rock opera written for a country teetering on the edge of fiscal and political absurdity. On a highway to hell. With a federal election coming on April 28, just six days after the concert, the timing couldn’t have been better.

 

I’ve now seen AC/DC in-concert four times.  The first was in 2003.  The second and third was 2009 and 2015 respectively.  After I saw them in 2009 and 2015, I wrote about how tax and AC/DC are like wine and cheese.  You can see what I wrote in 2009 here and 2015 here.  

 

And almost nine years after the last time I saw them, they again showed up.  Angus Young can still play a mean guitar. I hope I have that much energy at 70 years of age.  Brian Johnson, the lead singer, well he can still rip it pretty well even if his tone is a bit off once in a while.  

 

Classic rock and Canadian tax policy have always had a lot in common. Both are loud, messy, and prone to being hijacked by folks who don’t quite understand the chord progressions, lyrics, messages and overall direction. 

 

So, in my traditional style, here’s what went through my head on tax policy (and given the pending election, election policy) as I listened to each song of the setlist.

 

1. If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)

The average Canadian family is taxed at over 43% of their income—and that’s before the fees and levies. Want more government spending? You’ve got it. Want another promise of “free stuff”? You’ve got it. Just know the bloodletting isn’t stopping, especially with the recently announced train wreck / fiscal insanity of Liberal spending promises if they are elected. 

 

2. Back in Black

Canada needs to get back in the black. This track should be Canada’s goal: fiscal discipline. Instead, the Liberals are promising to separate the “operational budget” from the “capital budget” – an old accounting trick – to mask huge spending. Back in black? More like stuck in red.

 

3. Demon Fire

This one goes out to our country’s income tax statute – the Income Tax Act. It’s bloated, unpredictable, and burns a lot of people it touches. Successive governments have stoked the flames. The Act is now a 3,000-page bonfire of complexity. Hope you brought marshmallows.

 

4. Shot Down in Flames

Canadian tax practitioners and some academics have been calling for significant tax reform for decades.  However, it has been shot down in flames by government after government.  Time for a change. 

 

5. Thunderstruck

Every accountant in Canada was thunderstruck when the CRA announced significant problems affecting tax filing in February and March of this year.  That’s three years in a row with significant problems.  I sure hope we’re not Thunderstruck again next year.

 

6. Have a Drink on Me

A fitting campaign slogan for the Liberals’ $130 billion-dollar new spending “plan” to spend like drunken sailors.  At least the Conservatives have a more fiscally responsible plan and a plan to eliminate the automatic alcohol tax accelerator!

 

7. Hells Bells

Election week and tax deadline in the same 7-day stretch? With Mark Carney promising economic “growth” via expanded spending and capital reclassification schemes, the tolling bells of hell are upon us. Pray it doesn’t lead to economic hell and instead we have a Conservative government with a return to common sense in Canada. 

 

8. Shot in the Dark

This song title is an apt description of most of the Liberal campaign platform. Lots of vague numbers, and magical math. As a tax guy that appreciates good economic policy, I’d appreciate less “shots in the dark”.

 

9. Stiff Upper Lip

You’ll need a stiff upper lip if the Liberals are returned to power.  Their spending platform promises will have to be paid for in one form or fashion.  Increased taxes are inevitable. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

 

10. Highway to Hell

We’re on that highway right now. High debt, deficits, low productivity, mass emigration of talent and capital. If the next government doesn’t find religion, this economic train is headed down, down, down.

 

11. Shoot to Thrill

The CRA’s massive budget increases were supposed to come with improved “services”, telephone systems, more targeted audits, etc. Sounds impressive. But something is obviously amiss at the CRA with massive increases in headcounts and continuous challenges.  It’s hitting the wrong targets. The casualties: Canadian taxpayers who are not getting good value for their tax dollars.

 

12. Sin City

Las Vegas might be tax-light, but Ottawa is where your money disappears with fewer lights and worse odds. And just like a casino, the house almost always wins.

 

13. Rock ‘n’ Roll Train

The tax system is a runaway train. The engine room’s on fire, and one of the conductors, Mark Carney, who wants to be Chief Conductor just released a campaign video about what expenses are versus assets.  Embarrassing stuff.  

 

14. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Campaign promises sound cheap but cost billions: “free dental care,” “targeted green subsidies,” “housing plans”, and “one-time affordability relief.” Translation? More tax, more complexity, less accountability. It’s dirty.  And it’s certainly not done dirt cheap. 

 

15. High Voltage

High voltage is the energy that will be needed to clean up Canada’s economic mess. We need a reform-minded government with the guts to simplify the tax system, curb spending, and reward hard work. Sadly, that kind of voltage has been in short supply over the last 10 years.

 

16. Riff Raff

This song title refers not to voters—but to the tax and economic advisors behind the Liberal Party platforms. Ideologues, not economists. And definitely not tax practitioners.

 

17. You Shook Me All Night Long

I’m working hard to shake up the sleep-deprived tax community this week. Between filing season and the stakes involvedin this federal election, it’s no wonder accountants wake up quoting sections of the Act and filing form numbers.

And in a kind of a neat moment, instead of singing “….knockin’ me out with those American thighs…”, Brian Johnson sung “…Canadian thighs…”.  He got a huge roar from the crowd…..

 

18. Whole Lotta Rosie

Some new tax policies sound appealing…until you read the fine print. Like the Underused Housing Tax.  Trust / bare trust reporting.  The previous capital gains proposals.  Looks and sounds simple. Ends up weighing 500 pounds.

 

19. Let There Be Rock

Let there also be transparency, sound budgeting, good tax policy and real economic leadership. We’ve had enough noise. We need real leadership.

 

20. T.N.T.

This song reminds me that I want to use T.N.T. and apply it to many parts of the Income Tax Act. Blow it up. Start over. With real reform and real courage. For those of you old enough to remember the Canadian comedy series, SCTV, they used to have a silly recurring sketch with John Candy and Joe Flaherty called “Farm Film Celebrity Blow-Up”. Candy and Flaherty, farmers, would interview a celebrity and then blow them up.  Like I said, kind of silly but hilarious.  Again, reminds me of what we need to do to a good chunk of the Income Tax Act. 

 

21. For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

To my fellow Canadians—tax weary, policy skeptical, and forced to vote during the last days of the tax filing deadline—this salute’s for you. Vote wisely. Your wallet depends on it.

 

Well, there you have it.  My 2025 special tax and election blog about AC/DC. Good old classic rock may be eternal. But what about fiscal sanity? Well, that’s up for grabs on April 28, 2025.

 

G’day, mates. Keep rocking!