Observers had noted a certain professionalization of Québec solidaire (QS). It is an impression that has been reinforced since one of its two spokespersons, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, seems to be leading the boat, taking on the appearance of a real party leader. But now QS’s latest foray into the mysteries of taxation has shown that the left-wing formation still has some crusts to eat before emerging from amateurism.
Québec solidaire has promised to make the “ultra-rich” pay an annual tax of $1,000 per million for taxpayers whose net assets exceed one million, a rate that rises from assets of 10 million. Added to this is an inheritance tax of 35%, after the exemption for the first million.
At the end of a meeting with the leaders of the Union of agricultural producers (UPA), Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois proceeded to a spectacular and obviously painful about-face by exempting farmers from these punctures intended for multimillionaires. The net value of farms in Quebec is 2 million on average, and 6 million for the largest of them, and it will be agreed that most farmers are not rolling in gold.
It’s a bit the same thing with the guy who, with his assets of 1 million, would find himself among the wealthy people that QS wants to bust. A mortgage-free house and a pension fund are sufficient to exceed the exemption threshold. Let’s bet that many backbenchers will one day or another be able to bear this label of ultra-rich.
QS maintains that only 5% of Quebecers will be affected. “It’s not a tax on the rich, it’s a tax on the ultra-rich,” the party said in its statement. Allow us to doubt it.
The devil is in the details, as the Anglos say. And this is especially true when it comes to taxation. It’s a pity, because QS, despite its clumsiness, is not wrong to believe that our tax system is imperfect and that we must take into account not only the income of individuals but their assets, as demonstrated by Thomas Piketty. Of the 37 OECD countries, 24 tax inheritances, but this is far from being a panacea. In Quebec, as in Canada, capital gains are taxed, but not in full, which somewhat replaces inheritance tax.
“We will not back down,” proclaims Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. However, never say never.