The Liberal campaign promise to end, or at least reduce, the highly regressive tax break on executive stock options was an important signal that, under a Trudeau government, everyone would have to pay their fair share. Since its introduction in 1984, the loophole has primarily benefited the very rich at a great cost to the public purse. It seemed fitting that Finance Minister Bill Morneau, who has said that pursuing tax fairness is his top priority, would close it. “We heard from some of the most innovative firms that are hoping to grow that (scrapping the tax break) could impact their decisions on investment.” The promise, it seems, will be broken. Under the current system, compensation received in the form of stock options is taxed at a much lower rate than regular income or bonuses.

Source: thestar November 20, 2016 10:52 UTC