CI Financial Inc. today released an open letter to the leaders of Canada’s political parties, urging them to “stop GST on savings.”

The letter explains how GST is charged against the management of mutual and segregated funds, but not most other financial services – amounting to a discriminatory tax on the savings of millions of ordinary Canadians.

The letter was published today in a full-page advertisement in the National Post and is to be published Friday in The Globe and Mail.

“The GST was introduced as a consumption tax, yet savings are not consumption,” said Stephen MacPhail, CI president and chief operating officer.

“This unfair application of the GST is draining an estimated $750 million a year from the nest eggs of Canadians and we are asking Canada’s political leaders to put a stop to it.”

MacPhail said more than one-third of adult Canadians invest in mutual and segregated funds. “It’s important that these Canadians are aware they are paying what amounts to a hidden and unjustified tax on their savings. We also believe that people should take advantage of the federal election campaign to speak to their local candidates about this issue.”