Feds' decision to delay capital gains tax changes a 'Ponzi scheme': Wiseman

The former head of Canada’s largest pension plan says the federal government’s decision to delay the implementation of proposed changes to the capital gains tax was made to collect additional tax revenue in the near term.

Mark Wiseman, the former chair of AIMCo and former CEO of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, told BNN Bloomberg in a Monday interview that if the government wanted to take a principled-stance on capital gains, the tax would already have been implemented.

“The government, when they announced the budget, should have made the change to the capital gains inclusion rate immediately,” he said.

“Why have they waited until the end of June before the implementation? The reason is, and they actually say it if you read the fine print in the budget, to encourage people to realize capital gains now before the implementation on (June 25), at the lower rate.”