EDITORIAL: Liberals out of touch on taxation

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One reason Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals are underwater in public support these days is that they’re out of touch with Canadians on the issue of taxation.

That’s what led them to believe middle-class Canadians would support their argument that raising the capital gains tax — a.k.a. “making the rich pay” — would lead to better funding for government programs aimed at making life more affordable for the middle class.

The Liberals also thought that trapping Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his party into specifically opposing the capital gains tax increase — by singling it out from the broader budget bill — would result in the Conservatives being perceived as the party of the rich.

But an Ipsos poll done for the fiscally conservative Montreal Economic Institute, released Thursday, demonstrates the fundamental flaw in Liberal thinking these days.

Based on a survey of 1,038 Canadian adults earlier this month, it found that 73% agreed, with only 19% disagreeing, that “increasing capital gains taxes will affect middle-class Canadians, not just the ultrawealthy.”

Meanwhile, 60% agreed, compared to only 25% who disagreed, that “the federal government’s decision to increase taxes on capital gains will have a negative impact on Canada’s economy.”

Similarly, 75% agreed, compared to only 17% who disagreed, that “higher corporate taxes lead to higher prices for consumer goods,” while 63% agreed, compared to only 21% who disagreed, that “a high tax rate can lead wealthy individuals to move to lower-tax jurisdictions.”

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What these findings suggest is that Canadians are no longer buying the argument from Trudeau and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh — the prime minister’s junior partner who allows the current Liberal minority government to survive — that “making the rich pay” will automatically improve the lives of ordinary people.

Rather, as the poll found, 70% of Canadians surveyed agreed, compared to only 18% who disagreed, that the real problem is the federal government’s failure to effectively spend money raised by taxation to address the most important issues facing our society today.

Similarly, 70% were “dissatisfied with the accountability and transparency of the Canadian government’s spending practices,” compared to only 23% who were satisfied.

It’s just more proof most Canadians don’t believe the Trudeau government has a revenue problem. They believe it has a spending problem.