Every fall the federal and provincial governments each issue an economic update on their budget. This year, Canada released their update on November 3 and Ontario released theirs on November 14th. We have pulled out some key highlights here that may be of relevance to you:
Government of Canada’s Fall Economic Statement
The federal deficit projection for 2022-23 is $36.4 billion, an improvement of $16.4 billion from the $52.8 billion projected in its 2022 Budget that was released earlier this year.
Key new investments include:
- Affordability: $2.7 billion over five years for accelerated Canada Workers Benefit payments (with new minimum entitlement) and making Canada Student Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans interest-free.
- Economic development: $250 million over five years for skills development in clean technologies; new refundable tax credit for electricity and clean energy investments; and $800 million for jobs and skills training for young Canadians.
- Tax: a new 2 per cent federal tax on public corporations in Canada that buyback shares, effective January 1, 2024.
Government of Ontario’s Fall Economic Statement
The provincial deficit projection for 2022-23 is $12.9 billion, an improvement of almost $7 billion from the $Y billion projected in its 2022 Budget that was released earlier this year.
Key new investments include:
- Affordability: Increasing monthly earnings exemption for the Ontario Disability Support Program; adjusting ODSP to inflation annually; doubling the Guaranteed Annual Income System payment for all recipients for 12 months.
- Economic Development: Additional investments in the Skills Development Fund; expansion of the dual credit program for skilled trades and early childhood education.
- Tax: extending cuts to gas and fuel tax until December 31, 2023; launching a voluntary clean energy credit registry; phase out of the small business tax rate; automatically matching property tax reductions for small businesses within all municipalities that adopt the small business property subclass; expanding the the Ontario Production Services Tax Credit to include location fees.