Corporate tax hike could have ‘unintended consequences,’ says TD CEO

Toronto-Dominion Bank’s chief executive says the corporate tax rate increase targeting financial institutions announced in last week’s federal budget “could lead to unintended consequences.”

At the bank’s annual shareholder meeting, CEO Bharat Masrani said that the federal government has chosen to “single-out” the Canadian banking sector with this measure.

The Liberals’ 2022 budget included a proposed surtax of 1.5 per cent on bank profits over $100 million, as well as a one-time 15 per cent charge on income above $1 billion for the 2021 tax year, a move Canada’s big bank leaders say could hurt Canada’s competitiveness on the global stage.

Masrani also urged the Canadian government to “reduce deficits built up during the pandemic and focus on growth” amid soaring inflation and ongoing supply chain challenges.

TD’s financing of fossil fuel projects and climate strategy was brought up several times during the meeting, similar to previous Canadian bank shareholder meetings over the last couple of weeks.

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Wealth inequality and the compensation gap at big organizations between executives and the average worker was brought up as well, specifically a request for the bank to publish its pay ratios.

This comes on the heels of TD announcing in an internal memo Wednesday a three per cent pay raise for most of its non-executive employees, effective July 1.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 14, 2022.