Summary
Dominant narratives tell us that wealth and power are separate: wealth is the realm of the market and power is the realm of politics. We must leave the market to distribute wealth as it sees fit, while power will be effectively shared through electoral democracy. But, in reality, we know that these two things go hand-in-hand. With great power, wealth often follows, and with great wealth comes significant political influence.
That is why Canadians are concerned about the extreme concentration of wealth, which is reaching unprecedented levels. Forty Canadian billionaires alone hold over half a trillion dollars in wealth. The wealthiest one per cent of Canadian households hold nearly $4 trillion in wealth, nearly one quarter of total household wealth. And we are seeing with our own eyes where this path can lead. Billionaires are playing a disproportionate role in the Trump administration that is threatening civil rights, democratic processes, and environmental progress. Canadians do not want to go down that same path.
The tax system is an important tool that we have to raise revenue, but also to structure markets so that wealth (and power) cannot concentrate indefinitely. The AFB makes significant changes to Canada’s tax system to fund the investments and programs in the rest of the budget while reducing the concentration of wealth and power.
The entire taxation chapter of the CCPA's Alternative Federal Budget can be found here.
