The House of Commons by a 208 to 118 vote Tuesday passed a motion to raise capital gains tax revenues from 50% to 66%, effective June 25. Liberal, Bloc Québécois, New Democrat and Green MPs all supported the motion. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland called it a blow for tax fairness against multimillionaires, a claim disputed by critics, per Blacklock’s Reporter. The tax applies to capital gains profits including the sale of a small business, commercial building or vacation home. “They had to pick a side and we are seeing now the side they have chosen,” said Freeland in the Commons. “The Conservatives are coming out against tax fairness. They think a nurse or plumber should pay tax at a higher rate than a multimillionaire.”“Canadians are watching. Canadians now see whose side Conservatives are on.”“Conservatives have been trying so hard to fake it. They have been trying to pretend they actually care about working Canadians.”Conservative MP Adam Chambers said Freeland mischaracterized taxpayers who earn capital gains and explained who will actually be impacted by the steep tax hike. “Farmers, fishers, families and physicians will all be impacted by this tax,” said Chambers. “The government either did not know this was the case or did not care. Had the government actually taken the time to ask Statistics Canada it might have found out almost 50% of the people impacted by this tax otherwise make less than $100,000 a year.”StatsCan according to a a 2018 report counted 2.5 million people who reported capital gains. Of those, 19% on average had an income of less than $60,000 a year.Conservative MP Robert Kitchen said family doctors have warned the impact the tax will have on health care. The Canadian Medical Association in a May 20 petition said the proposal “will hurt health care in Canada.”“Doctors warned about the impacts of unnecessary and harmful taxes but they were ignored. It will be regular Canadians who lose,” said Kitchen. Conservative MP John Barlow said the tax change is also a blow to farmers. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture on Tuesday accused cabinet of “ramming these very significant tax changes through” without full committee hearings.“Liberals like to claim this will only impact the ultra rich but that just is not true,” said Barlow.Conservative MP Rick Perkins said cabinet was “robbing fishermen of a dignified and honest retirement” in Atlantic Canada. “They risk their lives for 40 years so they can save a little to retire on the sale of their boat and their license,” said Perkins.Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman said new capital gains were costly “when a small business owner retires and sells their assets” like her own father, a Soviet émigré who drove a Toronto taxi and became a shopkeeper. “He did not have a pension,” said Lantsman.“It is doctors, it is farmers and it is small business owners,” she said. “It is a restaurant owner who has been in the community and leases their building. It is tradespeople like plumbers and roofers who reinvest in their businesses and their equipment and eventually want to stop working.”
The House of Commons by a 208 to 118 vote Tuesday passed a motion to raise capital gains tax revenues from 50% to 66%, effective June 25. Liberal, Bloc Québécois, New Democrat and Green MPs all supported the motion. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland called it a blow for tax fairness against multimillionaires, a claim disputed by critics, per Blacklock’s Reporter. The tax applies to capital gains profits including the sale of a small business, commercial building or vacation home. “They had to pick a side and we are seeing now the side they have chosen,” said Freeland in the Commons. “The Conservatives are coming out against tax fairness. They think a nurse or plumber should pay tax at a higher rate than a multimillionaire.”“Canadians are watching. Canadians now see whose side Conservatives are on.”“Conservatives have been trying so hard to fake it. They have been trying to pretend they actually care about working Canadians.”Conservative MP Adam Chambers said Freeland mischaracterized taxpayers who earn capital gains and explained who will actually be impacted by the steep tax hike. “Farmers, fishers, families and physicians will all be impacted by this tax,” said Chambers. “The government either did not know this was the case or did not care. Had the government actually taken the time to ask Statistics Canada it might have found out almost 50% of the people impacted by this tax otherwise make less than $100,000 a year.”StatsCan according to a a 2018 report counted 2.5 million people who reported capital gains. Of those, 19% on average had an income of less than $60,000 a year.Conservative MP Robert Kitchen said family doctors have warned the impact the tax will have on health care. The Canadian Medical Association in a May 20 petition said the proposal “will hurt health care in Canada.”“Doctors warned about the impacts of unnecessary and harmful taxes but they were ignored. It will be regular Canadians who lose,” said Kitchen. Conservative MP John Barlow said the tax change is also a blow to farmers. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture on Tuesday accused cabinet of “ramming these very significant tax changes through” without full committee hearings.“Liberals like to claim this will only impact the ultra rich but that just is not true,” said Barlow.Conservative MP Rick Perkins said cabinet was “robbing fishermen of a dignified and honest retirement” in Atlantic Canada. “They risk their lives for 40 years so they can save a little to retire on the sale of their boat and their license,” said Perkins.Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman said new capital gains were costly “when a small business owner retires and sells their assets” like her own father, a Soviet émigré who drove a Toronto taxi and became a shopkeeper. “He did not have a pension,” said Lantsman.“It is doctors, it is farmers and it is small business owners,” she said. “It is a restaurant owner who has been in the community and leases their building. It is tradespeople like plumbers and roofers who reinvest in their businesses and their equipment and eventually want to stop working.”
