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The federal government announced a proposal Tuesday that would crack down on the practice of wealthy individuals spreading their income among family members to create major tax savings.

Ottawa is taking aim at three major loopholes, affecting as many as 50,000 families, including what is called “income sprinkling” using private corporations to shift income from an individual facing a higher personal income tax rate to a family member who is subject to lower personal tax rates or who may not be taxable at all.

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“Many of the richest Canadians are unfairly exploiting the tax rules designed to help businesses thrive. We know that businesses, including small businesses, help grow the Canadian economy. These tax advantages are in place to help these businesses reinvest and grow, find new customers, buy new equipment and hire more people. We want to make sure those rules are used to do just that, and not to give unfair tax advantages to certain – often high-income – individuals,” said Bill Morneau, the federal finance minister, in a statement.