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Quebec election: Liberals criticize wealth tax proposal as attack on farmers

Sep 7, 2022 | 9:39 AM

SAINT-JACQUES-LE-MINEUR, Que. — Quebec Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade is calling the wealth and inheritance taxes proposed by Québec solidaire an attack on farmers.

On Day 11 of the Quebec election campaign, Anglade reacted to a promise by the left-wing party to tax Quebecers with net assets of $1 million or more.

Québec solidaire spokesman Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois is promising to tax people an extra 0.1 per cent on assets between $1 million and $10 million. He says assets worth between $10 million and $99 million would be taxed at one per cent and anything over $100 million would be taxed at 1.5 per cent annually.

Nadeau-Dubois is also promising to impose a 35 per cent tax on inheritances worth $1 million or more. 

Anglade visited a farm south of Montreal today and pointed to a combine harvester parked behind her, explaining that the value of that single piece of equipment is around $1 million. 

She says it’s hard enough to find young people to take up farming that taxing them more is the wrong policy, adding that there are “millions” of examples of people who have worked hard and want to leave assets to their children.  

Nadeau-Dubois says his party, if elected, would need to tax people more in order to improve services in health and education and to fight climate change.

All Quebec’s major party leaders are scheduled to meet with the province’s professional farmer’s union — the Union des producteurs agricoles — today and tomorrow. 

Coalition Avenir Québec Leader François Legault, who met with the UPA this morning, is promising $100 million in new funding for sustainable agriculture and to help entrepreneurs establish new farms. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2022.

The Canadian Press