Videos

Our climate and inequality crises are inextricably linked through the tax system. Fossil fuel corporations have increased profits and economic power – in great part by taking advantage of tax measures that have cost the public and the planet. For too long, environmental costs have been downloaded while wealth has concentrated at the top. We need new tax measures such as a wealth tax and a windfall tax to redistribute economic power and ensure the biggest polluters pay their fair share. 

Canadians for Tax Fairness researcher and economist DT Cochrane speaks with CBC News about the need for an excess profits tax to help households deal with inflation. 

Profits of large corporations are climbing alongside the prices of goods. An excess profits tax would help Canadians who are struggling with the rising cost of living and deter corporations from seeking higher profit margins that contribute to inflation.

C4TF economist and researcher Dr. DT Cochrane is interviewed by CityNews about our latest report "Public Funds for Private Gains".

Our report found large profitable corporations took the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, bolstered profits, reduced employment, and avoided billions in taxes.

Cochrane tells CityNews the federal government can recover some of that money back to the public with a windfall tax on large corporations' excess profits.

How many times have you heard that we can't afford to pay for the social programs and public services Canadians need? Whether it's pharmacare, childcare, or investments in a green economy, Canada can afford to invest in a stronger and more equitable society. But it will require everyone to pay their fair share. 

Our video highlights how much revenue could be raised by closing tax loopholes for the rich and making the tax system fairer. 

Canadians for Tax Fairness economist Dr. DT Cochrane joins a panel on TVO's the Agenda to discuss rising food prices.

The C4TF team discuss their vision for a country where taxation is a way to invest in Canadians, so that economic disparities decrease, and we build a truly caring society. In order to invest in that future, we need to end the tax-dodging schemes and tax loopholes that a select few of the wealthiest corporations and individuals use to avoid paying their fair share.

^{(Speakers: Executive Director Katrina Miller, Economist DT Cochrane, Communications Coordinator Darren Shore, and Board of Directors members Peggy Nash and David Bruer.)}

Canadians for Tax Fairness (C4TF) fights to ensure that everyone, including the richest corporations and individuals, contributes their fair share towards the revenue needed by our public institutions. When that doesn't happen, our public institutions lack the funds to respond effectively to crises like pandemics and climate change, or to effectively provide the quality public services that everyone wants and needs, from healthcare and long-term care, education and housing.

^{(Speakers: Executive Director Katrina Miller, Economist DT Cochrane, Communications Coordinator Darren Shore, and Board of Directors members Peggy Nash and David Bruer.)}

Prior to Ontario's government announcing massive spending on for-profit long-term care, DT Cochrane's report, Careless Profits, showed that an estimated $3.8 billion in public funding provided to long-term care operators in Ontario was syphoned off as profit during the decade before the COVID-19 Pandemic, contributing to poor care conditions linked to over a thousand deaths in for-profit facilities over the previous two years. To make matters worse, private long-term care companies dodged taxes and used tax havens. BNN Bloomberg's Amanda Lang interviews economist DT Cochrane.

An interview with C4TF economist DT Cochrane about how corporate profiteering is fuelling inflation and driving up the cost of living. The Breach, 2 May 2022.

^{Related Reports: The Rise of Corporate Profits in the Time of Covid (April 2022); January 7th is Corporate Income Tax Freedom Day (January 2022); Pandemic Profits and the Public Purse (May 2021).}

^{Related Coverage: Critics accuse Loblaws of profiting from inflation as profits surge by 40%, Christine Dobby, Toronto Star, 5 May 2022; If we want Canada to recover economically, it’s time to raise the corporate income tax rate, DT Cochrane, Toronto Star, 22 April 2022.}

Toby Sanger from Canadians for Tax Fairness explains why tax avoidance has remained legal, and the knock-on effects for those who can’t afford to use them.

^{Related: Explainer: What are the Pandora Papers? , and our Campaign: Tackle Tax Havens}

^{See: The Pandora Papers}