Elizabeth May calls on Liberals to honour campaign promise and close tax loophole on stock options

Elizabeth May is calling on the Liberals to honour their campaign promise to close a lucrative tax loophole for the rich by taxing stock options like personal income. When exercised, stock options are taxed at half the rate of ordinary income. This is grossly unfair and means that average Canadians are subsidizing senior executives who may already be earning hundreds of times more than the average Canadian.

Ms. May stated: “The government is losing an estimated $600 million in annual revenue by ignoring this tax loophole on stock options. This revenue could be used to create a federal tax credit for investment, and to develop a consistent program across provinces so that investment dollars can better respond to ideas and opportunities, rather than relying on the piecemeal programs that frustrate investors and pit one province against another.

“Just like the Liberals’ promise on electoral reform, real change requires doing the difficult work of honouring their word. The Liberals are revealing they’re only good at tackling low-hanging fruit. Minister Morneau should do the right thing for all Canadians by fixing the tax loophole on stock options in Budget 2017,” Ms. May concluded.