Liberal leader Justin Trudeau is looking to impose higher corporate taxes on Canada’s “largest and most profitable” financial services firms, such as banks and insurers, should he be re-elected on September 20.
During a campaign stop at Surrey, BC, Trudeau said that major banks and insurers have economically recovered from the pandemic better than companies in other industries. Because of that, they should be paying more to offset the costs of post-pandemic programs, the leader told reporters.
If re-elected, Trudeau said that his government would hike the corporate income tax rate from 15% to 18% on all bank and insurance earnings over $1 billion.
“We have to rebuild a better Canada -- one that works for everyone. That’s why we’re going to ask our largest financial institutions, who have recovered faster and stronger than many other industries, to pay a little more so we can invest in Canadians and help them find a home of their own,” said Trudeau in a release.
The Liberal party also unveiled plans to create a “Canada Recovery Dividend,” which financial institutions would have to pay for over a four-year period. Both the tax raise and the dividend would generate some $2.5 billion in federal revenue, to help fund the Liberal party’s housing plan to build 1.4 million homes over the next four years.
While the exact structure of the Canada Recovery Dividend has yet to be determined, a Liberal spokesperson told Bloomberg that further consultations with the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions would help decide the basis on which the dividend would be calculated.
