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Doctors sound alarm on capital gains changes
One of the key measures introduced in the federal government’s 2024 budget this past week has been met with backlash from some in the medical community.
The federal budget proposed that the inclusion rate — the portion of capital gains on which tax is paid — for individuals with more than $250,000 in realized capital gains in a year will increase to two-thirds from one-half.
For corporations and trusts, however, there is no threshold. The inclusion rate for them will increase to two-thirds for all realized capital gains.
“The vast majority of family doctors and just doctors in general in Canada are practising through what’s called a professional corporation,” explained Don Carson, a chartered accountant.
“And they have been using a professional corporation for various reasons, one of which is really to help assist in saving for retirement.”
Canadian physician Dr. David Poon started the Facebook group ‘Professional Corporation Advocates,’ which aims to rally professionals, especially doctors, against the changes.
“We don’t get pensions, we don’t get retirement funds, we don’t get insurance or sick days. We have to save up for our own retirement and for our own families,” he told Global News.
“This is essentially a retroactive tax on our savings.”
The Ontario Medical Association also weighed in, saying in a statement on Friday that the proposed changes to how capital gains are taxed will “negatively impact physicians in Ontario and ultimately affect access to patient care.”
Read more on the capital gains concern.
Fresh bird flu warning
The World Health Organization’s chief scientist is sounding the alarm on the risk of bird flu spreading to humans.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva on Thursday, Jeremy Farrar said there is “enormous concern” as the virus increasingly spreads in mammals.
“The great concern, of course, is … that virus now evolves and develops the ability to infect humans, and then critically the ability to go from human-to-human transmission,” he said.
Farrar’s warning comes just two weeks after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a human case of avian influenza in a person who had contact with dairy cows in Texas.
But at least one infectious disease expert says Canadians don’t need to worry about changing their daily routine just yet.
Read more on the latest bird flu risks and what Canadians need to know.
— THE TOPIC —
What is ‘bacterial vampirism?’
— WHAT EXPERTS ARE SAYING —
Some of the world’s deadliest bacteria exhibit a peculiar craving for human blood, new research shows.
And the discovery is shedding new light on the mechanics of bloodstream infections and possible treatments.
Termed “bacterial vampirism,” this phenomenon, detailed in a study published Tuesday in the journal eLife, found that certain bacteria are drawn to the liquid component of blood, known as serum, where they scavenge for essential nutrients.
“This chemical that’s in our blood that we use for food is also something that these pathogenic bacteria recognize as food.… They are attracted to human blood and that’s why they’re swimming towards it,” Arden Baylink, a professor at Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and corresponding author for the research, told Global News.
“This includes a lot of bacteria that people are probably familiar with … E. coli and salmonella.”
Given that the bacteria the researchers examined are known to possess multidrug-resistant strains, the researchers emphasize the crucial need for developing new therapies in the future.
“To develop new therapeutics, we have to come up with strategies about how we might be able to block their infection,” Baylink said.
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