John Manley writes in the Financial Post on why increasing the capital gains inclusion rate, as announced in the 2024 federal budget, is a bad idea. John authors an op-ed with fellow C.D. Howe Institute members Duncan Munn and Dwight Duncan.
They say the budget does not address intergenerational fairness—as the federal government claims—and point out several problems with increasing the inclusion rate:
Taxing capital gains amounts to double taxation: corporate earnings are taxed once before they reach individual shareholders, only to be taxed a second time.
John, Duncan and Dwight say that rather than hiking capital gains taxes, the federal government should be prioritizing policies that foster investment, entrepreneurship and economic growth.