XPost: can.politics, bc.politics, ab.politics   
   XPost: ont.politics, man.politics, sk.politics   
   From: {~_~}@nyet.ca   
      
   Many corporations have already filed THEIR taxes - and they paid   
   nothing.   Zilch . . . nada. . . . zero . . .   
   They can move profits around between a dozen different companies to make   
   sure they're not taxable in a single one of them.   
   Can YOU, as an average taxpayer, do that?   
      
   Take a look at this synopsis - and then remember that when the Harper   
   Cons tell you that 'Canada's economy is strong', they're really saying   
   'Corporations are making more money than ever'.  Too bad many of them   
   don't pay taxes, eh?   
   __________________________________________   
   CBC News Posted: Apr 30, 2014   
      
   Top 1% taking lion's share of global growth, OECD says   
      
   37% of growth in last 30 years has gone to Canada's wealthiest   
      
   The top one per cent of income earners have taken a disproportionate   
   share of overall income growth over the last 30 years, in Canada and in   
   most OECD countries, according to a study by OECD economists.   
      
   In Canada, the top percentile of earners captured about 37 per cent of   
   total growth in the last three decades, according to an analysis of tax   
   filings by the OECD in 28 member countries with advanced economies.   
      
   That explains why economic growth is not leading to improved incomes for   
   the rest of us – the 99 per cent, the study found.   
      
   The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development paper urges   
   governments to reconsider tax policies implemented in the past 30 years   
   that have reduced the amount paid by the wealthiest income earners, as   
   well as providing preferential treatment for capital gains and   
   dividends, sources of income most likely to be held by the one per cent.   
      
   Canada is second only to the U.S. in its growing inequality.  In the   
   U.S., about 47 per cent of total growth went to the wealthiest one per   
   cent between 1975 and   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
   2007, compared to 37 per cent in Canada, while in Australia and the   
   U.K., about 20 per cent of growth went to the wealthiest.   
      
   In Nordic countries and in France, Italy, Portugal and Spain, about 90   
   per cent of growth went to the 99 per cent of middle and low-income   
   earners in the same period.   
      
   The growing gap between rich and poor was a focus of the Occupy   
   movement, which resulted in mass protests and sit-ins in New York,   
   Toronto and other cities in 2011 and 2012. It also became a flashpoint   
   last year, during protests over the low U.S. minimum wage.   
      
   According to a recent Oxfam report, the wealthiest 85 people in the   
   world hold as much wealth as the poorest half of the planet's population   
   – or about 3.5 billion people. The issue of income inequality is being   
   raised by the International Monetary Fund, by the Davos forum and by the   
   Conference Board of Canada as a concern.   
      
   Larry Summers, who was secretary of the treasury under Bill Clinton and   
   is now a Harvard professor, has pointed out how the constant push for   
   tax cuts and the erosion of union bargaining rights has led to greater   
   income inequality.   
      
   Like the OECD, he advocates tax reform.   
      
   “There’s a concern that if you tax capital, capital will move out.   
   That’s why this has to be done in a spirit of global co-operation,” he   
   told CBC News in an interview last month. Summers said a global pact on   
   taxing capital would help prevent tax avoidance and tax evasion.   
      
   The OECD points out that most member countries have reduced rates for   
   top income earners, with the average dropping from 66 per cent in 1981   
   to 41 per cent in 2008.   
      
   “Higher disposable income makes it easier for the one per cent to save   
   and accumulate capital, which eventually increases incomes further,” the   
   OECD report said.   
      
   Taxes on dividends and capital, which make up a greater proportion of   
   the income of the wealthiest taxpayers, have been cut.   
      
   The study calls for higher marginal tax rates and fewer tax deductions   
   and credits aimed at high income earners. It also advocates wealth or   
   inheritance taxes.   
   ___________________________   
      
      Why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer   
      
        Amanda Lang answers your questions on income inequality and the 1%   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)