Canada moves to make ultra-rich pay their fair share of taxes

EDMONTON – Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) president Gil McGowan responded to changes to the “inclusion rate” to the federal Capital Gains Tax:

“Today, the House of Commons will continue to debate a small change to the rules around what portion of investment profits are taxable. This is called the “capital gains inclusion rate” and this rate rose from half of the annual investment profits to two-thirds, for amounts over $250,000.

“’Capital gains’ taxes are collected from profits made from investments, like sales of property or stocks. This is paid primarily from the wealthy and helps fund many of the services Alberta workers expect from the government. Countries all over the world have their own version of this tax.

“There are those in the UCP government and elsewhere claiming that all Albertans will somehow have to pay more in taxes. In our view, this is a purposeful and shameful attempt at misinformation. Those trying to manipulate and cause anxiety for working families are a disgrace.

“Finance Canada says about 0.13 per cent of Canada’s population will now pay a little bit closer to their fair share of taxes. That small group are made up of Canada’s ultra-rich, who otherwise have numerous tax loopholes and havens.

“Alberta workers support this step towards a fair tax system. Unlike the wealthy few who now pay tax on two-thirds of their capital gains, workers pay income tax on 100 per cent of their wages and salaries. Moving towards a 100 per cent capital gains ‘inclusion rate’ would be a better system than the one we have today.”

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MEDIA CONTACT:
John Ashton
Director of Communications, AFL
E-mail: jashton@afl.org