Am I my brother's keeper?

In Canada, we give significantly less to charity than do Americans, and it seems that our lower level of disposable income (read: higher tax burden) is to blame, according to this study.

Wouldn't it be more efficient if Canadians could direct their hard-earned tax dollars to charities instead of having some government bureaucrat handle the money and dole it out?

The cash would get to the needy sooner and with more value because of less administrative costs.