Capital gains tax changes approved in House of Commons, Conservatives oppose

globalnews.ca:

The House of Commons voted Tuesday to approve the Liberal government’scapital gains tax changes despite the Conservatives opposing the measure.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau voted in person along with his government for the tax changes, which will increase the inclusion rate for taxable capital gains. They are now set to take effect June 25.

The NDP and Bloc Quebecois also voted in favour of the measure.

The opposition Conservatives had not previously stated their position on the changes in the weeks since the proposal was first introduced in the latest federal budget in April.

The Liberals forced their hand when Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tabled a stand-alone motion Monday to put the tax adjustment in place.

The government say the changes will help pay for investments in health care, housing and clean technology and will improve “tax fairness” in Canada.

But Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on Tuesday called the measure a “job-killing tax on health care, homes, farms and small business.”

During question period Tuesday ahead of the vote, Poilievre and his party accused the government of “hiking taxes in the middle of a food crisis,” which the Liberals denied, arguing the measure will help middle-class Canadians.

“For eight weeks since we put our budget forward, the Conservatives have been incredibly careful not to say a thing about the capital gains rate that we’re raising,” Trudeau said.

“The reality is they have an opportunity to vote with middle class Canadians and they’re choosing to vote against them.”

Capital gains are the proceeds from the sale of an asset like a stock or an investment property. Currently, all capital gains come with an inclusion rate of 50 per cent, meaning half of the profits