FACT CHECK: Jagmeet Singh claims that under the Liberal government the rich are paying less in taxes

October 7, 2019

Jagmeet Singh’s claim is misleading. As promised during the previous election, one of the first actions of the Liberal government was to cut taxes for the middle-class while asking the wealthiest to pay more. Specifically, this was done by lowering the second tax bracket (for taxable income between $45,282 and $90,563) from 22.0 percent to 20.5 percent. At the same time, the Liberal government introduced a new fifth bracket for taxable income over $200,000 at a 33 percent top rate.

According to recent analysis by Statistics Canada, the introduction of the fifth top bracket resulted in a higher effective tax rate for Canada’s top 1%, at the federal level, in 2016 and 2017.

A re-elected Liberal government would continue to make life more affordable for the middle-class and those working hard to join it. We would do this by making sure that Canadians don’t pay federal taxes on the first $15,000 they earn. This will save the average family nearly $600 a year. While our plan lowers taxes the most for people who make less, and helps the middle-class, we will also ensure that the wealthy don’t get an extra hand up.