Why Canada Will NEVER Tax Your Home Profits

Why are Canadians allowed to sell their homes tax-free while profits from stocks and investments get taxed? And is that policy making Canada’s housing crisis even worse?In this episode of Classonomics Sabrina Maddeaux and Mike Moffatt break down Canada’s capital gains exemption on primary residences, why it exists, why politicians are terrified to touch it, and whether it’s contributing to skyrocketing home prices and inequality between homeowners and renters.They explore the history of the tax exemption, why attempts to change it spark political outrage, how other countries handle housing taxes, and whether taxing home profits would actually make housing more affordable. Plus, they discuss property taxes, downsizing, investor advantages, generational inequality, and why even “common sense” housing reforms have become politically impossible in Canada.Topics covered:Canada’s capital gains exemption on homesHousing affordability and inequalityWhy homeowners are politically powerfulHow other countries tax housing wealthProperty taxes and downsizingInvestors vs families in the housing marketThe politics of housing reform in CanadaWhy fixing housing has become so difficult#Canada #HousingCrisis #RealEstate #Taxes #HousingMarket #CanadianPolitics #Economics #TheMissingMiddleChapters:00:00 Why Canada Doesn’t Tax Gains on Your Primary Home01:17 Why Politicians Won’t Touch the Primary Residence Exemption04:06 The History of Canada’s Capital Gains Exemption05:28 How Other Countries Handle Housing Capital Gains07:25 Does the Exemption Actually Worsen the Housing Crisis?10:39 The Case Against Taxing Primary Residences13:26 Better Alternatives: Tax Fairness Without Capital Gains Reform16:06 Why Even Good Housing Policy Can Be Politically ImpossibleResearch:Canada should look to Australia on eliminating barriers to downsizing for seniorshttps://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/personal-finance/article-housing-baby-boomers-suburban-homes-young-families/CBC article from a few years ago: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/the-conservatives-misleading-claims-about-a-secret-liberal-housing-tax-1.5312873 26 of 40:https://view.asiae.co.kr/en/article/2022032109551988175 History of cap gains taxes:https://www.ctf.ca/EN/EN/Newsletters/Perspectives/2021/3/210304.aspxHosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina MaddeauxProduced by Meredith MartinFunded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/