When the federal government announced an increase in capital gains taxes in its recent budget, the hike was defended, in part, as a way to ensure the wealthiest Canadians pay their fair share.

But how exactly do we determine what a “fair share” is? Especially, as some data suggests, the wealthiest are already paying a larger share of the overall income tax burden.

While those tax changes may impact the very wealthiest, Fuss suggested that what is often overlooked is how much high income earners are actually paying in taxes.

Nocos referred to a recent Statistics Canada report showing that the wealthiest 20 per cent of Canadians account for more than two-thirds of the total net wealth.

As well, according to the data, the bottom 40 per cent of net income earners make up just under three per cent of total wealth.