By Canadian Press

Singh waves off one-time wealth tax, demands ongoing tax on ‘ultra-rich’ Canadians

Jul 15, 2021 | 9:33 AM

OTTAWA — New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh is rejecting the idea of a one-time wealth tax that Parliament’s budget watchdog says could raise tens of billions of dollars, pushing instead for an ongoing tax on the “ultra rich.”

In a report today, parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux estimates that a one-time tax of three per cent and five per cent on Canadians with net wealth over $10 million and $20 million respectively would yield between $44 billion and $61 billion.

However, Singh is sticking to his proposal from last year that calls for an annual tax of one per cent on families with fortunes over $20 million.

He says that the budget officer’s report shows there’s plenty of revenue to be gleaned by government, but he believes a continuous tax on “ultra-wealthy” residents is the proper path to fair contributions.

Singh is also demanding what he dubs a pandemic profiteering tax that would temporarily target web giants such as Google, Netflix and Amazon.

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As the country marches toward a likely election this year, the NDP is proposing to use the wealth-tax windfalls to pay for pricey pledges such as national pharmacare and long-term care home funding.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15, 2021.

The Canadian Press