Statistics Canada has published their most recent income estimates for the top one per cent of income earners, showing dramatic increases in 2021 that have more than offset small declines observed in what was earned by the top ranks of income earners in 2020.
Incomes of the top one per cent of tax filers, excluding capital gains, rose 9.4 per cent to $579,100 in 2021. “Filers in the top 0.1 per cent saw their average total income increase by 17.4 per cent to $2,086,100, while those in the top 0.01 per cent saw their average total income increase 25.7 per cent to $7,731,400,” Statistics Canada states in the recently released report, High-income Canadians and capital gains, 2021.
In contrast, they say filers in the bottom half of the distribution saw their average total income decline $1,400 to $21,100. This decrease was due in part to the lowering or ending of government transfers.
Broken down, Statistics Canada says wages and salaries drove the increases observed among top earners. Those in the top one per cent saw their average wages and salaries increase 12 per cent. Those in the top 0.1 per cent enjoyed a 24.6 per cent increase on average and those in the top 0.01 per cent saw an increase of 34.5 per cent. Dividend income rose 12.9 per cent to $90,200 for those in the top one per cent.
In 2021 they add that 12.2 per cent of all tax filers received capital gains. When these are added to income, the average income for the top one per cent was $811,800, up 20.5 per cent when compared to 2020 figures. The top 0.1 per cent earned $3.23-million, up 27.6 per cent and the top 0.01 per cent earned nearly $12.6-million during the year, up 30 per cent.
“These levels of income, including capital gains, were much higher than they were at any other point in the last 40 years, accounting for inflation. The previous peak was in 2007 when the top one per cent made on average $712,000,” they state.
