Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s move to step down and prorogue parliament has killed a series of changes his government proposed to capital gains.

If passed before the prorogation, the changes would have raised the portion of capital gains on which companies pay tax to two-thirds from one-half.

It would also have applied to individuals with capital gains earnings above $250,000.

When the changes were pitched in the Liberal’s latest budget in April, they were met with disdain from Canada’s tech and business communities.

The president of e-commerce giant Shopify Inc. called the move a tax on innovation and risk taking, while others suspected it would cause talent to flee the country.

The capital gains changes were tabled as a ways and means motion in June but got held up last year, when parliament was stalled because of a dispute over the government’s green technology fund.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 6, 2024.

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press