Canada Needs a Wealth Tax
A Canadian wealth tax could raise funds sufficient for universal public pharmacare, free tuition for postsecondary education, 100,000 nonmarket affordable homes per year, and a major increase in public transit investment. The country needs a wealth tax now.
The Bank of Nova Scotia building at King and Bay Streets in Toronto, Canada, April 13, 2023. (Steve Russell / Toronto Star via Getty Images)
The rise of extreme inequality has provoked growing calls for an annual wealth tax on the superrich around the world, and Canada is no exception.
Backed by a growing body of economic research, proposals for a wealth tax have high levels of support among Canadians across party lines. Yet, an annual wealth tax is nowhere to be seen on the federal government’s agenda.
Based on up-to-date modeling of a moderate wealth tax, my analysis shows that this tax could provide a huge source of ongoing revenue for public investment while helping to rein in extreme inequality.
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