This Black History Month, it’s important to recognize that economic injustice—both in Canada and around the world—is deeply rooted in racism. The property system in Canada was founded on the forced displacement and exclusion of Indigenous peoples from their land and immigration policies that prevented non-white immigration, effectively barring many thousands of people from accessing property in Canada. These racialized colonial systems laid the foundation for the current racial wealth gap, where racialized Canadians have about half as much wealth as their non-racialized counterparts.
Unlike the United States, where constitutional barriers have historically shielded the ultra-rich from direct taxation, Canada faces no such constitutional legal obstacles—only political ones. And those political excuses are running out.
A wealth tax enjoys overwhelming public support. Nearly 90 percent of Canadians back it, yet successive Liberal and Conservative governments have refused to act. Their refusal isn’t due to legal constraints but to the immense influence of corporate lobbyists and billionaire donors who oppose any effort to make them pay their fair share.
Just last year, powerful corporate interests mobilized to kill a progressive tax measure that would have primarily targeted Canada’s wealthiest citizens and corporations: the partial closure of the capital gains loophole.
Detroit isn’t a good example for Canadian property tax. Ontario reasseses property taxes every 4 years, and as far as I can tell, it’s 100% possible for them to go down as they are tied to the specific property and municipality, not national inflation.
You can get ta reassessment in US too…
I did not say national inflation, i said housing inflation which is reflected in local comparables in year over year basis whichpart of government uses to asses property values for tax.
So in US it is theoretically possible to challenge the assessment and have it reduced but look doing that without a proper counsel and an actual good case.
What happened in Detroit was malfeasance tough because they kept relying on old valuation despite property values tanking because municipal budget was border line in default on their bonds and i think they eventually BK’ed anyway. But not before gutting entire neighborhoods and ruining peoples lives. Because fuck the poor. That’s why.
I’m wasn’t really talking about reassessments, which is up to the property owner to request. The property value is updated every 4 years automatically, and the change in taxes are spread out gradually over those 4 years. If there was a massive drop in value 3.5 years ago, then sure, that sucks a little, but the next 4 years will compensate. Ontario has a lot of steps to go through before your unpaid tax debt turns into asset forfeiture, I can only assume tenants have more protections in Canada. Evicting someone from their primary residence has its own huge list of rules.