26 January 2022

Inequality by the Trillions

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C4TF in the News 

News Roundup

Tax to Relax

Inequality by the trillions

In January, we learned more about how the select few are achieving great wealth, and how it can and should be redistributed.

The average Canadian corporation earned enough revenue in the first week of annual financial operations to cover its entire income tax for the rest of the year, as made clear in a report by our own DT Cochrane. His deep dive into the world of corporate income tax explains how falling corporate tax rates combined with abundant use of tax loopholes, tax havens, and aggressive accounting has cost the government over $1.1 trillion in lost revenue over the last two decades.

Unsurprisingly, Canada’s CEOs have enjoyed a parallel level of financial gain, as shown this month by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Meanwhile, the workers they employ have carried the brunt of the pandemic’s economic consequences.

The wealth gap becomes even more stark when we see that half of all Canadian households might no longer qualify for a mortgage. Generation Squeeze, along with C4TF and other allies, proposed a million dollar home surtax as a valuable option for tackling housing inequity.

The exponential widening of the wealth gap hasn’t been limited to Canada. Oxfam International published a stark report in January, outlining how the vast inequalities between the super-rich and everyone else have greatly expanded over the last two years.

On the bright side, proposals to tax wealth gained ground, including discussion at January’s World Economic Forum meeting in Davos of a basic wealth tax for millionaires and billionaires, and a global minimum corporate tax rate, which could potentially raise $2.52 trillion - enough to lift 2.3 billion people out of poverty.

Photo by Towfiqu Barbhuiya on Unsplash

Is a new tax break for canada's oil and gas industry a mistake? Experts weigh in. Stephen Leahy, The Weather Network, 26 January 2022

Attitude on carbon tax rebate defined by politics, not facts, survey suggests, Bob Weber, The Canadian Press / Globe & Mail, 25 January 2022

Most Of Canada’s Huge Pile Of Savings Are Held By The Wealthiest Households, Better Dwelling, 22 January 2022

100+ ultra-rich people warn fellow elites in open letter: "It's taxes or pitchforks", Jake Johnson, Salon, 20 January 2022

Canada’s Real Estate Bubble Is So Big Even The Mother Of All Crashes Can’t Fix It, Better Dwelling, 21 January 2022

Hundreds of academics ask Freeland to scrap carbon capture tax credit, Mia Rabson, CTV, 20 January 2022

Which US States Are Considered Among The Top Tax Havens?, Dana Sanchez, Moguldom, 20 January 2022

Millionaires call on governments worldwide to ‘tax us now’, Rupert Neate, The Guardian, 19 January 2022

Tax on the Rich Could Pay for Global Vaccinations, Study Says, Ali Asad Zulfiqar, Bloomberg, 18 January 2022

A tax scam with a Caribbean flavour, Allan Lanthier, Financial Post, 18 January 2022

The loopholes and low bar in Macron's push for a global tax, Vicky Cann and Chiara Putaturo, EU Observer, 17 January 2022

Tax rich to fund vaccines for poor hit by pandemic, Kelvin Chan, CTV News, 16 January 2022

New rules needed to get charitable foundations to disburse more money, Jonathan Goodman, The Globe and Mail, 16 January 2022

Feds provide funding for tax clinics, North Bay Nugget, 14 January 2022

Atlantic Canada’s Best Paid CEO Makes More Than $13-Million A Year, Trevor Nichols, Huddle, 12 January 2022

To recover from the crisis, tax the wealth of multimillionaires like me, Djaffar Shalchi, OECD, 12 January 2022

Canada's income inequality continues to grow and is unsustainable, The Spec, 9 January 2022

‘Tax Me,’ Says Prof Whose Home Jumped $500,000 in One Year, Jen St. Denis, The Tyee, 7 January 2022

Could a new tax on homes worth $1M and up help fix Canada's housing crisis?, Pete Evans, CBC, 7 January 2022

Panama Papers wins UK’s Investigation of the Decade award, Hamish Boland-Rudder, ICIJ, 6 January 2022

Alta Energy: Has the GAAR become toothless? – Part II, Allan Lanthier, Canadian Accountant, 6 January 2022

Alta Energy: Has the GAAR become toothless? – Part I, Allan Lanthier, Canadian Accountant, 5 January 2022

Top CEOs in Canada were paid at second-highest level ever during the pandemic, Erika Ibrahim, The Canadian Press, 4 January 2022

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