Canada / Top 1 per cent earn 7 times Canadian median finds the National Household Survey

Canadians in the top 1 per cent are paid more than $191,000 a year, according to the National Household Survey, which takes a closer look at how governments take from the rich and give to the poor.

The make-up of the 1- per-cent club is overwhelmingly male, most-likely over the age of 45 and tends to work in management jobs. Canada’s top earners are also more likely to make money through investments and self-employment income.

They also earn about seven times the national median income of $27,800.

The new data comes amid a growing debate over whether income-inequality is a national problem and if so, whether policy changes are needed.

The voluntary survey from Statistics Canada breaks down the extent to which income in Canada is distributed from higher-income Canadians through taxes to lower-income Canadians through government transfers.

The survey found that 70 per cent of the Canadian population receives some form of government transfer, with a median total income from transfers of $4,100.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at 

via National Household Survey finds top 1 per cent earn 7 times Canadian median – The Globe and Mail.