Taxes and tax cuts

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You can’t assume that government budgets affect men and women the same way—or other groups for that matter—since men and women generally occupy different social and economic positions. Unfortunately, until very recently, governments have done exactly that—developing policies and assigning funding to them in a gender-blind fashion.
U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez provoked a lot of hostile—and positive—reaction earlier this year when she proposed the United States should introduce a top tax rate of 70% on incomes over $10 million, with revenues going to pay for a Green New Deal. Although many on the right belittled her idea, it was in fact firmly based on the historical record.
Wealth taxation is back on the progressive political agenda. It is both a refreshing new idea and a return to vogue of a policy established decade ago in Europe. Some remember it as part of François Mitterrand’s 110 propositions pour France, a joint electoral platform in 1981 with the Communist Party that carried him into the Élysée Palace. The solidarity tax on wealth survived multiple right-wing presidents, only to fall recently to President Macron.
We are living with vast discrepancies between rich and poor in Canada. That much is undeniable. According to the Broadbent Institute, 10% of Canadians held almost half (47.9%) of all wealth in 2012. Meanwhile, around one in seven people (about 14%) live in poverty, according to Canada Without Poverty. The gap between those with and without wealth is stark.
Mining enjoys massive government support in Canada. Politically, it’s treated as a preferred development option for remote communities and Indigenous peoples. Former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall once said, “The best program for First Nations and Métis people in Saskatchewan is not a program at all—it's [uranium mining company] Cameco.” The law backs this up.
Canada is one of the biggest extractive sector players in the world. We are home to approximately 60% of the world’s mining companies, and the Toronto Stock Exchange and Venture Exchange host more oil and gas companies than any other exchange in the world. Collectively, these companies have interests in over 100 countries.
Échec aux paradis fiscaux was founded in 2011 by a small group of unions and civil society organizations fed up with how easily corporations and high-wealth individuals avoid paying taxes. Slowly, the coalition has grown to the point that today, nearly all Québec’s unions are members, alongside a great number of other groups and two national student associations.
When John Penrose visited Canada this year to address a global anti-corruption summit, he brought some advice for his host country. The U.K. member of parliament told government representatives of a powerful anti-corruption tool that would cost less to implement than paving a few kilometres of road.
Corporate income tax has long been a leading provider of government revenue. Unfortunately, large sections of the media and policy-making community have accepted the notion, propagated by both the business lobby and neoliberal ideology, that corporate tax is a detrimental, inefficient and growth inhibiting tax. Tax cuts, on the other hand, are said to encourage investment, create jobs and increase productivity. There is strong evidence that neither of these widely held beliefs are true.
Illustration by Michael Haddad