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When the infamous American bank robber Willie Sutton was asked by a reporter why he robbed banks, his now-legendary alleged response was “because that’s where the money is.”

Whether he actually uttered those exact words or not, they nonetheless became the basis for “Sutton’s Law,” a colloquial medical phrase referring to the principle of going straight to the most likely diagnosis for a medical condition.

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Western governments have traditionally relied on a variation of Sutton’s Law by choosing to impose the highest marginal tax rates on the wealthiest segments of their taxpayers on the basis that, well, they earn most of the nation’s income.

Statistics Canada caused quite a buzz earlier this year when it released data on the top 1%, breaking it down even more granularly to take a close look at what the top 0.1% and even the top 0.01% earn and pay in federal and provincial taxes.

Income thresholds