Media Statement about scrapping the Capital gains tax, a missed opportunity

We are deeply concerned about the Prime Minister’s decision to scrap the Capital Gains Tax. This decision benefits corporations in the finance, insurance, and real estate sectors while leaving everyday working Canadians behind. It is a missed opportunity for many workers who pay tax on every dollar earned. Why are not all dollars earned by someone not taxed the same? Where is the fairness that because you are rich, you pay less tax on dollars you earn, no matter how you earn them?

Let’s be clear: capital gains tax only applies after someone gains $250,000 a year. This tax did not target the average Canadian worker. Instead, it impacted the wealthiest individuals and corporations, particularly those in industries like real estate. For example, over the past twenty years, real estate corporations have saved billions of dollars thanks to preferential tax treatment, as Canadians for Tax Fairness highlighted. It is unfair and fundamentally wrong when workers earn their income through wages and salaries, which are fully taxed at 100% come tax time. And the rich get a break on income and the tax they pay. This creates a system where the wealthiest individuals and corporations benefit from lower tax rates on their investment income while everyday workers bear the brunt of the tax burden. That’s not fair. In truth, all income should be taxed the same. Whether it’s earned through work or investments, to be clear, income is income.

A good starting point for the new prime Minister would have been to increase the amount of Capital G like we have been calling for, from a rate of 50% to 66.7%, which my friends would help ensure a more equitable tax system where corporations and high-income earners contribute their fair share. The decision to eliminate the Capital Gains Tax is a step in the wrong direction. It prioritizes wealthy corporations’ interests over everyday people’s needs at a time when so many Canadians are struggling to make ends meet. Workers are becoming fed up with a system that caters to the rich, with politicians who work in their interest. The Nova Scotia Federation of Labour will continue to stand up for working people and demand a fair tax system that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few.