Mr. Speaker, what I like best about Bill C-2 is the tax hike for the richest 1%. In my opinion, the income gap is too wide and that is the most glaring problem in our current capitalist society, together with the extreme pressure that our economic system is placing on the environment.
Over the past 30 or 40 years, income inequality has grown steadily and has now reached unacceptable levels. Paying a CEO ten times what his employees are paid can be justified. However, when the CEO is paid 200, 300, or even 400 times as much, that is a sign that there is something seriously wrong with our society, and that the state has failed to do one of its main jobs, namely to ensure an acceptable redistribution of wealth.
The government is sending a strong message with Bill C-2 and it is headed in the right direction. It has been a long time since Ottawa increased taxes for the rich. Lowering the TFSA limit is a measure in the same vein and I will applaud if it actually shows up in the budget.
On the other hand, my enthusiasm for the tax cut for the so-called middle class is somewhat lukewarm. In my opinion, it misses the mark. This tax cut will benefit the wealthiest one-third of taxpayers. People who earn an average or median income will not benefit at all. The government is saying that anyone who earns $45,000 or more will benefit. However, if gross income is used in the calculation, people actually have to earn $51,000 to save money on their taxes. The reason for this is that other tax deductions reduce the gross income to a net income of $45,000, which is taxable. As a result, a worker who earns $51,000 a year will not save any money on taxes under Bill C-2.
By way of example, I would like to inform the parliamentary secretary that 80% of the people in his region of Mauricie report an income of less than $50,000. Only 4% of the people in his region, including himself, will see their taxes reduced by the maximum amount. People who earn $52,000 will not even save $20 with this measure. It is far from a solution. Those who earn $100,000 a year will save $680, and those who earn a gross income of $240,000 will not have to pay a penny more in taxes.
In short, the tax transfer in Bill C-2 will help the rich save money on their taxes by making the richest 1% pay more. In other words, the Bentley owners will have to pay to help BMW owners. Bill C-2 will not help Focus, Civic, or Corolla owners and will do even less for Accent owners, even though they are the ones who need help the most.
Nevertheless, this bill sends a strong message to the richest 1%. This is a step in the right direction. The proposed change is obviously symbolic and is not enough to correct the inequalities that exist. We need to go further.
The government should also target the problem of tax avoidance and tax havens as a priority. While the middle class and the poor are struggling and coping with austerity policies, receiving fewer services, and paying more for existing services, white collar criminals are ducking their social obligations. What good is it to increase their taxes by 1% if they are diverting their income? The KPMG scandal is the most recent example of this. The issue of tax havens is the elephant in the room. Canada's has one of the worst records among OECD countries. It is time for that to change.
This government can take action right now to deal with Barbados because we moved a motion to deal with this very issue. Barbados is Canada's tax haven. That is where Canadian banks and financial institutions, as well as wealthy Canadians, send their money. We can tackle Barbados as a tax haven right now. We do not need agreement from other countries to take action. I hope this will be done. It is a matter of fairness and justice.
The government of the Quebec nation is currently looking at the issue of tax havens. It will quickly see that it has little latitude on this matter and that it is largely dependent on the decisions that are made and voted on here in Parliament.
Since Quebec is not a country, it is subject to the tax treaties and laws negotiated, voted on, and ratified by Ottawa.
Quebec suffers when this government gives amnesty to white collar criminals. Quebec suffers yet again when Ottawa allows banks to move money to their branches in Barbados.
This lax attitude causes serious shortfalls for Canada and also for Quebec. When white collar criminals shirk their responsibilities, the rest of the public loses services, pays more in taxes and fees, and sees its debt balloon. This must change. We must do much more than what is in Bill C-2.