30/11/22

CANADA: NDP calls on Trudeau to take on Billionaires and tax the rich.

As published on ndp.ca, Tuesday 29 November, 2022.

NDP Critic for Tax Fairness and Equality Niki Ashton (Churchill—Keewatinook Aski) is calling on Trudeau’s Liberals to take on the inequality crisis by increasing the corporate tax rate, implementing a windfall tax on excess corporate profits and closing gaping tax loopholes.

Ashton said with the rising cost of food, gas and other necessities, a windfall tax on excess corporate profits is long overdue — and that money could be used to make life more affordable for Canadians.

“Generations of Liberals and Conservatives built a rigged system to give more power to the bosses and less to workers,” said Ashton. “Justin Trudeau claims to be cracking down on tax evasion by billionaires, but he is protecting their profits, and even looking the other way as the billionaires and multi-billion-dollar corporations use tax heavens to avoid paying their fair share. This is wrong. It's time to do things differently.

"New Democrats call on the Liberals to stop giving a free pass to billionaires, and instead start standing up for working people.”

In addition to closing the offshore tax heaven loophole, the NDP proposes to raise the corporate income tax rate to 18 per cent and eliminate targeted subsidies for profiteering oil and gas companies.

A recent report by the Parliamentary Budget Officer found that the NDP’s proposal for a windfall tax on big oil and gas and big box stores, which includes big grocery chains, would generate $4.3 billion over five years. This is money the Liberals could use to take the GST off home heating, relieving some of the pressure on families dealing with the increased cost of everything, and higher interest rates.

“The Liberals are picking their billionaire friends over working people and people on fixed incomes," said Ashton. "It doesn't have to be this way. We can make changes now to force the very wealthy to pay their fair share, to take on the inequality crisis and stand up for working people and those on fixed incomes across our country.”