NDP leader waves off one-time wealth tax

New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh is rejecting the idea of a one-time wealth tax that Parliament's budget watchdog says could raise tens of billions of dollars, pushing instead for an ongoing tax on the "ultra rich."

In a report today, parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux estimates that a one-time tax of three per cent and five per cent on Canadians with net wealth over $10 million and $20 million respectively would yield between $44 billion and $61 billion.

REPORT: “Revenue Estimates of M-68: One-time Tax on Extreme Wealth” https://t.co/HRwVKz6VW9 #cdnecon #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/JEJ2jclZLa

— Parliamentary Budget Officer (@PBO_DPB) July 15, 2021

However, Singh is sticking to his proposal from last year that calls for an annual tax of one per cent on families with fortunes over $20 million.

He says that the budget officer's report shows there's plenty of revenue to be gleaned by government, but he believes a continuous tax on "ultra-wealthy" residents is the proper path to fair contributions.

Singh is also demanding what he dubs a pandemic profiteering tax that would temporarily target web giants such as Google, Netflix and Amazon.

As the country marches toward a likely election this year, the NDP is proposing to use the wealth-tax windfalls to pay for pricey pledges such as national pharmacare and long-term care home funding.