Policy Forum: Taxing Wealth Transfers in Canada Using an Accession Tax

Graham Purse

doi:10.32721/ctj.2020.68.3.pf.purse

Policy Forum: Taxing Wealth Transfers in Canada Using an Accession Tax

Canadian Tax Journal/Revue fiscale canadienne ◽

10.32721/ctj.2020.68.3.pf.purse ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 68 (3) ◽

pp. 851-862

Author(s):

Graham Purse

Keyword(s):

Wealth Transfer ◽

Wealth Tax ◽

Federal Administration ◽

Policy Forum

Wealth transfer taxes have had a long history in Canada: the Rowell-Sirois report suggested federal administration; the Carter report emphasized the importance of including wealth transfers in income. Yet by the 1980s wealth transfer taxes had largely disappeared in Canada. This article makes the case for consideration of an accession tax, which taxes wealth transfers in the recipients' hands. An accession tax has significant administrative advantages over the annual wealth tax featured in current popular debates.

Download Full-text

Policy Forum: The Case for an Annual Net Wealth Tax

Canadian Tax Journal/Revue fiscale canadienne ◽

10.32721/ctj.2020.68.3.pf.jackson ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 68 (3) ◽

pp. 835-850

Author(s):

Andrew Jackson ◽

Toby Sanger

Keyword(s):

Wealth Inequality ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Property Taxes ◽

Financial Assets ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Equal Distribution ◽

The Public ◽

Distribution Of Wealth ◽

Wealth Tax ◽

Policy Forum

The public and policy makers are showing a renewed interest in wealth taxes as a possible response to the problem of wealth inequality. This article describes the recent trend of rising wealth inequality, and the factors contributing to it, in developed countries, including Canada. The authors argue that an annual wealth tax could and should counter the trend, and that such a tax is both justifiable on economic grounds and technically feasible. They assert that the taxation of capital income does not adequately address the largely tax-free accumulation of large fortunes, and that an annual wealth tax is preferable to property taxes, which exclude the taxation of financial assets and are levied on gross rather than net wealth. The article responds in detail to major criticisms of an annual tax on wealth, arguing that such a tax is needed to achieve a more equal distribution of wealth while raising additional revenues.

Download Full-text

Investigating a new wealth tax in South Africa: Lessons from international experience

Journal of Economic and Financial Sciences ◽

10.4102/jef.v11i1.175 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jackie Arendse ◽

Lilla Stack

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

South Africa ◽

Budget Deficit ◽

Tax Revenue ◽

Wealth Transfer ◽

The World ◽

History Of ◽

Small Base ◽

Wealth Tax ◽

Gift Tax

In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on new sources of taxation, including wealth tax. In South Africa, two phenomena have driven the focus on wealth tax. Firstly, the need for additional tax revenue to fund an ongoing and growing budget deficit, exacerbated by a prolonged period of low economic growth, rising government debt and a very small base of individual taxpayers. Secondly, the fact that South Africa has one of the most unequal societies in the world. The dual demands of increased tax revenue and economic inequality have converged around wealth tax as a possible panacea to both problems. Although South Africa has a long history of wealth transfer tax in the form of estate duty and donations tax, there has never been a tax on the net wealth holdings of individuals during their lifetime. Internationally, numerous countries have used wealth tax in various forms, including inheritance tax, gift tax, recurrent wealth tax and non-recurrent wealth tax. This study examines some of the international experiences with these three categories of wealth tax, seeking lessons and experiences that can inform the debate around the viability of a new wealth tax in South Africa.

Download Full-text