The Wrap Up – Budget 2017
by Kevin Anseeuw on 03.23.2017
Yesterday at 4 pm, Federal Minister of Finance Bill Morneau delivered his budget in the House of Commons. The budget was titled “Building a Strong Middle Class.” He has previously stated:
“Canadians are talented, skilled and creative people. Our plan will give them the tools and support they need to make their mark in the economy of tomorrow, while ensuring that the success we create together is shared by the middle class, and those working hard to join it.” 1
Overall the stated themes of the budget were:
The budget was described as a “wait-and-see” budget by CBC news2 generated by a significant amount of political uncertainty and lack of information regarding corporate and personal tax cuts and government spending from the United States.
There is a fear that Canada could experience a brain-drain of highly educated and talented leaders if they are attracted to the US by greater job opportunities, higher pay, and lower taxes. Budget 2017 did little to address the concerns of highly capable Canadians, but it did not increase the income tax burden for them either.
Some other highlights from the budget include:
We were most interested in the last point above regarding changing tax laws, however there were no specifics provided. Leaving the capital gains tax unchanged may spur a bit of a rally, however the overall theme from yesterday was that not much was changing. After the considerable changes implemented in the 2016 budget, this budget offered very little.
There does appear to be some change on the horizon as it’s 5 degrees above 0 in Winnipeg today. As always, spring brings the promise of new growth and sunny days ahead. We will continue to hope for the same from our economy.
Enjoy the sunshine.
Kevin
More information can be found by visiting this government website:
http://www.budget.gc.ca/2017/docs/bb/brief-bref-en.html or by reviewing the budget document 3 http://www.budget.gc.ca/2017/docs/plan/budget-2017-en.pdf
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Sources:
1 https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2017/03/budget_2017_is_setformarch22.html
2 http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/liberal-trudeau-morneau-budget-2017-1.4034793