Tories challenge Liberals on promised tax cuts
OTTAWA – Daily hot chocolates are off the menu.
Fresh from the Parliamentary Budget Officer's new report showing the government's promised middle-class tax cut falling far from what was promised, the last Question Period of the abbreviated spring sitting saw the Conservatives demanding answers.
'Just like Trudeau, he can't even get a tax cut right,' said Calgary East MP Jasraj Hallan, accusing Prime Minister Mark Carney of deceiving Canadians.
'He promised $800, yet the average Canadian will only save $90 this year – not even enough to get a hot chocolate from Tim Hortons weekly.'
Despite Carney's election promise that his middle-class tax cuts would save families an average savings of $825 per year, Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux said that number's actually closer to $280, with most families expected to see savings of around $90 in 2025.
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Two-income families with a child could see the biggest savings, but no more than $750.
'I recognize the job of prime minister comes with many responsibilities, I didn't know addition and division were one of them,' Carney said in response, pointing across the aisle to jeering Conservatives.
'The Parliamentary Budget Officer refers to the reductions for all Canadians,' he said. 'The vote that the members opposite supported this government on delivers tax cuts for the 22 million Canadians who pay taxes.'
The PBO priced the Liberal tax cut at just under $64 billion over five years, while the Department of Finance Canada pegged the cost at $27 billion over the same time period.
— With files from The Canadian Press
bpassifiume@postmedia.com X: @bryanpassifiume
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