NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is pitching a new tax on Canada's "ultra wealthy." Singh said he will use the party’s opposition day on Thursday to table a motion with the proposal. This new tax would aim to help people who are struggling during the COVID pandemic.
“The only way to actually help the working-class people is if the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share, finally, and we invest in helping people out,” Singh said in a news conference in Ottawa. “The Conservatives and Liberals aren’t prepared to do that.”
This tax would affect those with fortunes more than $20 million, and the current aim is to also create an "excess profit" tax that would tax corporations that have been successful during this pandemic year.
“There’s so much we can do to make sure those who have the means and the resources pay their fair share, and we don’t put the burden on (other) people,” Singh said.
Singh also attacked previous Conservative and Liberal governments, stating they “cut help to people.”
The Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated that Singh's plan would create billions a year in tax revenue for the government. The estimate is that 13,800 families would pay the wealth tax, generating $5.6 billion.
