Trudeau accused of ‘singling out’ financial firms after pledge to tax banks, insurers – By Barbara Shecter (National Post) / Aug 25 2021
Liberals pledge to pay for housing initiatives by raising tax rate on bank and insurer profits in excess of $1 billion
Liberal leader Justin Trudeau is pledging to raise corporate taxes on banks and insurance companies earning more than $1 billion per year to fund his new housing policy if his government is re-elected next month.
The country’s banks responded swiftly, criticizing the “singling out” of the financial services industry and saying the tax hit will “merely re-direct” bank profits from Canadians to government coffers.
“The proposed tax increase would reduce income that would otherwise benefit the majority of Canadians who are bank shareholders, either directly through share ownership or indirectly through pension and mutual funds, including the Canada Pension Plan,” the Canadian Bankers Association said in a statement, adding that pension funds and RRSPs are some of the main beneficiaries of the billions of dollars that the banks pay in dividends each year.
“Seniors, charities and endowments that rely on dividend payments would be punished as a result,” the statement said.
