OTTAWA—Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is unveiling his latest election pitch aimed at taxing the rich, promising to broaden levies on capital gains to reap billions more each year for health care, housing and programs to fight climate change.

Singh intends to announce the policy proposal Friday during his keynote speech at the Broadbent Institute’s Progress Summit, an annual gathering of progressive thinkers and New Democrats near Parliament Hill.

In an interview with the Star on Thursday, Singh said he wants to increase the proportion of capital gains profits that are taxed by the federal government. This “inclusion rate” is currently set at 50 per cent — meaning only half the profits people make by selling property or securities investments is subject to income tax. The NDP wants to increase that rate to 75 per cent, which Singh said party researchers predict would bring an additional $2.7 billion in tax revenue to the federal government each year.

Capital gains are profits made from selling real estate — other than your primary residence — and from the sale of other investments, like stocks or certain businesses, that aren’t held in registered retirement or tax-free savings accounts.

“The vast, vast majority of people that use this benefit are the wealthiest, the richest people in Canada,” Singh said, contrasting the capital gains inclusion rate with how most people’s salaries are taxed.

“Frustration brews when you say, ‘Hey, I’m working harder and harder, but I don’t get any special breaks. But someone over here who makes their money off an investment doesn’t have to contribute as much.’ (People) are frustrated with that. And I think this plan, these types of plans, actually help address that frustration, that people feel like the system is rigged,” he said.

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“We want a fairer system.”

Capital gains taxes have been around for decades, and the inclusion rate Singh wants to increase has been changed as well — most recently in 2000, when the Liberal government led by Jean Chrétien slashed it from 75 to 50 per cent. Singh would reverse that change.

There were several media reports ahead of the 2017 budget that saw business analysts warn that increasing the proportion of capital gains that gets taxed would deter investment and innovation in Canada. Singh dismissed such concerns on Thursday, arguing a 75 per cent rate still gives capital gains better tax treatment than employee income.

He added that the change would bring in more money that an NDP government would use to extend public health care to cover prescription medicine, dental and eye care, as well to build affordable housing units and fund a transition to cleaner energy.

“There’s got to be some fairness to pay for the things that people need,” he said. “This is one of the ways we can do it.”

The proposal to increase the tax on capital gains follows an announcement last fall, when Singh touted a trio of policy changes to crack down on tax dodgers and prevent the wealthy from hiding their money. He said the NDP would make changes to prevent companies from moving money overseas to avoid corporate taxes, and ban special types of company shares — called bearer bonds — that don’t require disclosure of who owns them.

Singh also called on the Liberal government to close the so-called stock option “loophole,” which allows corporate executives to avoid income taxes by receiving compensation in company shares instead of through regular paycheques.

The Liberals banned the issuance of new bearer bonds in legislation last year, and the Trudeau government announced in the recent federal budget that it intends to cap stock compensation at $200,000 per year so high income earners no longer benefit disproportionately from the option.

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But Singh said he does not believe the Liberals will follow through on the stock option limit, contending Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has demonstrated he is beholden to business interests through the SNC-Lavalin controversy and by not moving faster to create a government pharmacare program for all Canadians.

“The track record of this government now makes it clear that they’re not going to make changes that will help out everyday families,” Singh said.

Friday’s policy announcement is part of a series that Singh and the NDP plan to make in the coming weeks. The party has said its entire 2019 election platform will be public before the end of spring.

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