A jarring portrait of a deeply unequal Canada and how a wealth tax could rein in the destructive power wielded by today's billionaires.
As the ultra-wealthy siphon off an ever-larger share of the world's wealth, they now dominate us to a degree unimaginable even a decade ago. With their voracious consumption, unbridled resource exploitation, and relentless obstruction of climate action, they are rapidly undermining democracy and destroying the very viability of the earth for human life.
Their staggering power and hoarding of wealth have prompted a number of G20 nations to consider imposing a wealth tax, aimed exclusively at the super-rich. In Canada, such a tax would apply only to those with wealth above $25 million. Yet it could collect $40 billion a year — funding public programs that could immensely improve the lives of millions of Canadians while clipping the wings of the super-rich.
Billionaires would threaten to depart. But as they left the country that had nourished them and enabled them to grow so wildly rich, they'd face a hefty "exit tax" on the way out.
Yes, change is possible.
