Tax policies may aggravate gap between rich and poor

OTTAWA—The Conservatives, who will soon deliver their post-election budget, are championing a set of plans that may accelerate Canada’s growing gap between rich and poor, a sign of inequality that has already reached troubling levels.

As in many other countries, Canada is witnessing a phenomenon in which the most wealthy are enjoying stunning increases in their income while the rest of society stagnates. It’s something that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is likely to hear about in no uncertain terms in the parliamentary debate following the tabling of the budget on June 6.

The trend (long summarized as “the rich get richer while the poor get poorer”) is so pronounced globally that Angel Gurria, head of the industrialized world’s main think tank, is warning that income equality is becoming a “serious threat.”

Gurria, secretary-general of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), said in early May that disparities in income between those at the top and those at the bottom continued to grow even during the decade of global economic expansion prior to the 2008 recession.

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Source: Toronto Star