Achi news desk-
Conservative leader Pierre Poiliber is telling business leaders to fight their own battles when it comes to the Liberals’ proposed changes to capital gains taxation.
But even as he characterizes their plan as an “attack”, his office remains tight-lipped about whether his party will vote for it or not.
Treasury Secretary Chrystia Freeland last week introduced legislation to implement the latest federal budget that did not include one of its market announcements.
Instead, the government is expected to introduce a stand-alone bill to update the tax system so that the wealthiest Canadians and businesses pay taxes on a larger share of their profits.
This means that each party will have to make a clear position by voting yes or no.
Opinion polls show that younger Canadians support the Conservatives – a trend that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has long relied on voters under the age of 40, hopes to reverse.
Last month’s budget focused heavily on dealing with housing affordability. Freeland and Trudeau defined the spending plan as “generational fairness.”
Poiliber said the conservatives would vote against the budget.
But when he presents himself as a champion of the working class and as someone who best understands the anxieties of the cost of living, will he support measures that the government claims will only affect the wealthiest in Canada?
His office will not say.
“Common sense Conservatives will vote against Justin Trudeau’s inflationary budget,” spokesman Sebastian Skamsky said in a statement.
“The legislation you’re asking about doesn’t exist yet because of Justin Trudeau’s incompetence, so we can’t consider the matter.”
Trudeau and his ministers have been going around the country talking about how the measures will require those who profit from the sale of assets to pay more than their “fair share”.
The Liberals propose to tax two-thirds rather than half of capital gains.
The increase in the deemed inclusion rate will apply to all net profits earned by corporations and those above $250,000 for individuals. They will not apply to the sale of a primary residence.
The government estimates the change will generate more than $19 billion in tax revenue over the next five years, helping to fund new spending, including measures designed to spur housing construction.
“It’s clear that the Liberals are making up their ‘cornerstone policies’ on the fly,” Skamsky said in a statement.
He added that “Trudeau’s rich friends” won’t pay an extra penny, and “working and middle-class Canadians” will be on the receiving end of Liberal spending.
Poilievre hinted at his own thinking in a recent opinion piece.
He laid what he described as the “onslaught” that businesses and entrepreneurs face at the feet of corporate leaders themselves, writing that their approach of weaning off the Trudeau Liberals has not worked.
“They planned to do nothing but complain and hope their useless, paid lobbyists would meet with Chrystia Freeland or Justin Trudeau to talk some sense into them while the opposition chases the government to reverse course,” Poiliver wrote last Friday in the National Post.
“If you want to stop Trudeau’s latest tax hikes, don’t talk to politicians about it, talk to the people.”
His comments — shared widely by his MPs and other Conservatives on social media — are in line with the populist message Fauliber has sent to the business community since becoming leader: He will prioritize ordinary people, not “Corporate Canada.”
He also warned that this attitude will not change if he becomes prime minister.
Poilievre’s opinion piece addressed concerns expressed by trade unions and companies about the proposed changes to capital gains.
He said they should raise such issues directly with their patients and employees.
“It is clear that my future government will do the exact opposite of Trudeau on almost every issue,” he wrote.
Pouillet was asked directly in an interview last week whether a future Pouillet government would repeal or retain the capital gains changes.
He did not specify, only saying it was still a “hypothetical” matter.
He claimed that removing changes to the capital gains taxation regime from the budget implementation bill amounts to a “slipper” by the liberals.
And while Poilever didn’t elaborate on what he might do next, he thought the measure was ineffective.
“What is clear is that it will not affect the rich, because the rich are simply selling their properties now before the change takes effect. They are transferring their money to tax havens… They will not pay a penny more.” he told Toronto’s CP24.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on May 5, 2024.
