Canada’s Trudeau government asks rich to pay more in pitch to Gen Z
Al Jazeera
Budget proposes higher capital gains taxes and billions in spending on education, housing, jobs and mental health.
Canada will ask the wealthy to pay higher taxes as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government seeks to shore up flagging support among young voters ahead of an election expected next year.
Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland said in the annual budget announcement on Tuesday that the wealthiest Canadians should pay more, while billions of dollars would be invested in education, housing, jobs and mental health services.
The budget proposes 53 billion Canadian dollars ($38bn) in new spending over five years, much of it directed towards Millennials and Generation Z in the form of affordable housing, student grants and loans, rent subsidies and work placement programmes.
Under the proposals, capital gains over 250,000 Canadian dollars ($180,804) would be taxed at 66.7 percent, up from 50 percent, raising nearly 20 billion Canadian dollars ($14.5bn) in revenue over five years.
Freeland said the opportunity for young people to build a comfortable middle-class life had “always been the promise of Canada”.
