Restoring 10 tax brackets
Today
Proposal
Income is taxed according to a bracket-based system: lower
slices are less taxed, while higher ones are more strongly
taxed. The more levels there are, the more equitable is the
tax burden distribution.
There are currently only 4 tax brackets in Quebec. Therefore, a 1 million dollar income
is taxed at the same rate as a $101,000 one. In the 1980s,
there were 16. By returning to 10 tax brackets, the government
would gain about 1 billion dollars annually in additional income
to invest in public services.
On top of that, for 87% of taxpayers, particularly the poor
and the middle class, this would actually mean paying lower
taxes. And for the richest 13%, this would mean an increase
of only 1.5%.
Restoring the capital tax
Evolution of the tax
Proposal
In Quebec, corporations and financial institutions used to pay
a tax on capital, that is, a tax on accumulated funds that are
intended to generate more profit. Furthermore, this tax is essential
in order to bring banks, who are largely spared from traditional
taxes due to their high number of transactions, to contribute to
the public purse.
The capital tax, which stood at 0.6%, was progressively abolished
by the liberal government between 2006 and 2011. By restoring it
to merely 0.5%, we estimate additional income at about
600 million dollars, which can be invested in public services.
Up to $10 billion from other fiscal alternatives
There are dozens of other alternatives the government can implement
to balance its budget, rather than cutting and charging for public services.
To prove it, the Coalition against user fees and privatization of public
services drew a graph of the different alternative fiscal proposals that
amount to over 10 billion dollars in additional revenue.
(excerpt)
| Measure |
Revenues |
Measure |
Revenues |
| Introduce 10 tax brackets |
1 000 M$ |
Abolish the tax credit for personal capital gains |
556 M$ |
| Decrease the RRSP limit |
300 M$ |
Reduce the dividend tax credit |
157 M$ |
| Adjust consumption taxes to the type of good or service purchased |
745 M$ |
Increase the corporate tax rate to 15% |
1 220 M$ |
| Reintroduce the capital tax on financial institutions |
600 M$ |
Combat tax evasion and tax avoidance |
500 M$ |
| Combat corrupt practices in the attribution of government contracts |
600 M$ |
Adopt cost-limiting measures for medication |
1 000 M$ |
| View the full table... |
Austerity is not inevitable: it's an ideological decision. By opting for
a fair budget, that brings the rich and corporations to pay their fait
share, it is perfectly possible to finance quality public services.
Flyer about the protest
Flyer about austerity
Policy Paper
Magazine (fr)
