The majority of fortunes targeted by a wealth tax are inherited, so the "punishing reward" arguments don't hold sway here

The oil industry in Canada receives billions in taxpayer subsidies every year. Air Canada received billions in federal relief during Covid while laying off staff, inconveniencing customers and paying out millions in executive bonuses. This doesn't even start to account for the social costs, or "externalities" these industries are responsible for. They socialize the risk and privatize the reward. So spare me your Dracula logic about who deserves what.

I thought the windfall profits taxes is only on the very nasty durrrrty fossil fuel companies? Apple is sitting on over $200B in cash last I checked but tech good oil bad narrative wins the day. My coal stocks are trading somewhere around x2-3 Ev/Ebitda, debt free with a potential yield this year close to 20%. Have politicians noticed there is an energy crisis? Or do they just not care

Ciao Michael, while you are in Italy, come visit Costa Smeralda in Sardinia? That is a place where Wealth Tax is a real concern 🙂 Keep it up!

The wealth tax is a tax to keep the poor from getting wealthy, a luxury tax so the poorest Canadians can't get luxuries.

We can either have an income tax or a wealth tax, not both. A wealth tax will only work if it is only on monetary assets like currency, money market accounts, etc. The purpose is to ensure money circulates in the economy instead of being hoarded. A wealth tax on homes, stocks, etc is not practical.

Never like how these "offshore/nomad" channels travel around and flaunt, trying to sell a lifestyle as if they're some successful billionaire. Please, substance over style. Sad your channel went this way.

I had trouble following you here. Kind of a rambling (in more ways than one) narrative, eh? And I have to say that I find the whole argument about risk and financial reward to be reductive and fallacious.

5:53

the optimal tax would be a wealth tax … because it is least distortive of behaviour

5:43

The reality is that pretty much everywhere it’s been tried it’s been a dismal failure

But other taxes, such as income tax, have not been such failures and instead have been sustainable over the long term.

As you said there are many reasons for the failure of wealth taxes including (but not solely) cost effectiveness. However, the low cost-effectiveness of wealth taxes is a symptom rather than a base cause.

One significant reason, in addition to the difficulty of valuing assets (a difficulty that governments may easily (and do) overcome by using deemed valuations) is that wealth taxes provide a strong incentive to distorted behaviour in an arena where changing behaviour is relatively easy. Your own suggestion that wealth taxes are a reason not to invest in countries with such taxes is an example of such distortion produced by the tax: the tax is a reason not to pursue an investment that you otherwise would have (or to discontinue an investment made prior to introduction of the tax).

7:51

(A wealth tax is ) partially a reason not to invest in those countries

8:07

(France’s and Spain’s wealth taxes on property) are negatives to investing in property in Spain and France, let’s be honest

So, the least distortive tax is one that discourages the activity (investment) that is the target of the tax? As Fawlty Towers’ Manuel would say, “¿Que?”

It seems to me that your own presentation undercuts your introductory point about the theoretical optimality of wealth taxes.

Wealth taxes are highly distortionary, and that is one reason underlying their failure over the long term while income, sales, payroll and other taxes have shown themselves resilient around the world and through time. (Note: I am not saying that these other taxes are not distortionary; they are.)

BOC raised interest by 0.5% to 'fight inflation', the result – prices went up

I've often thought that the only tax should be an inheritance tax. Obviously this is strictly theoretical as the practical implementation of it would be nearly impossible. The wealthy, and even not so wealthy, would find ways to short-circuit it. It also runs contrary to my private property is inviolable mindset. The best option would always be minimal government and therefore minimal need to raise taxes.

Those two things aside though, it would have even less impact than a wealth tax. "I'm not going to die because I don't want to pay tax". Sure.

If we then used the money raised to create opportunities for the talented, the world could be a much better place. I'm sure we've all seen the 2nd or 3rd generation squander the wealth bequeathed by the generation that built it. What if instead of substandard people getting a free ride through inheritance, everybody started at zero and rose or fell on the strength of each person's own merit? When you're done and gone, the slate is wiped clean, and the next person starting out in life gets the opportunity to try their luck.

Because there was no more income taxation, the talented people creating wealth would retain even more of it to continue providing value and benefit. Of course this also supposes that we return to a truly capitalist system, instead of the crony capitalist, or even fascist system we now "enjoy".

dude you're not even allowed to LEAVE canada right now without a flu vaccine and they're discussing the imlementation of a "digital ID"… if you're not getting the F out you're nuts.

I wanna know about UAE free zone company and i've seen some videos around the topic where people were saying that you can stay for 2 days in a year i.e., 1 day each 6 months.So can i be tax free if i stay in my home country UK for most of the part?

Instead of taxing assets, tax the loans that rich people take out. There can be exemptions for regular people getting a mortgage on a primary residence, but a disincentive for unnecessary borrowing isn't a bad idea.

Most countries already have a wealth tax. It's called property tax

Wealth tax is the "least distortive of behavior"…? I don't agree. A wealth tax incentivizes the hiding of assets; it incentivizes obfuscation of the value of assets; and it incentivizes the relinquishment of residency (in the country at issue), and, in the case of the US, would incentivize renunciation of citizenship. Those taxes that distort economic behavior the least are those that are least easily avoided through economic choices; for example, taxes on wage-earners cannot be avoided through economic choices…. but such taxes CAN be mitigated through the POLITICAL process. Similarly, sales taxes are difficult to avoid (legally), but can be mitigated via the political process.

I was watching videos for teenagers on YouTube and it was a "ask a millionaire anything" and it was a 24 year old guy with $4M and this girl asked "don't you feel guilty that wealthy people like you aren't paying more in taxes?" 😂

Yes, the $4M is the elite bankers who a single trade can shake markets.

time to gtfo of canada when we are allowd to leave

Wealth tax is the best method to transfer property from middle income people to the rich. When normal people can’t afford the wealth tax, they have to sell – who is going to buy? Not the poor! The ultrarich (for whom any tax will always be peanuts) will come in and buy everything up.

When you hear "The Greater Good" RUN….

I have no doubt some form of tax will come, Ontario in particular has a hydro tax linked to wealth being considered.

Italy?? Are you there for the food??

The Canadian government is like dumb and dumber. It’s been going on for decades. The answer to wealth inequality is to work harder and smarter, not have some work idiots take money from Peter to pay Paul.

You’re lucky to be in Dubai 😎

Pretty sure they’re going to be very sneaky in the way they introduce a wealth tax. At first only the wealthiest cohort of people will be affected, but then gradually, either through lowering of the threshold or simply by virtue of asset inflation engineered by the central banks, more and more wealthier people are going to find themselves trapped. As they will still be the minority, the socialist parties of Canada won’t feel threatened. If conditions get a lot worse suddenly, the people will revolt. If they deteriorate slowly, however, my bet is we’ll see something akin to the boiling frog fable. Don’t be that frog.

I'm in Ontario and nothing is surprising anymore. I'm definitely moving in the next couple years

Goverments are really fast distributing the profits, but when it comes to the loss… only the enterprises of the friends of the party

Rather than flitting around the world, why don't you do some real work

The incentive and reward for being an economic creator is all financial. Take that away and you get no incentive to take risk.

It is my understanding that the Canadian federal government has instituted a wealth tax on boats and aircrafts which is 30% on top of the current sales tax of 15% in Ontario. This will come into effect on Sept 1. Does anyone know more about this?

🙌DOWN WITH GLOBALISM AND TRUDEAU