Latest news with #ParliamentaryBudgetOfficer
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
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. Tories accuse PM of thinking about Brookfield's 'bottom line' with EV mandate Pull plug on gas engine ban, Tories urge government 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@ X: @bryanpassifiume
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Federal deficit estimated to hit $46 billion in 2024-25: PBO
The Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates the federal deficit will hit $46 billion in the 2024-2025 fiscal year because of better-than-expected revenues. The PBO expects the deficit to be $4.3 billion lower than its estimate in its election-costing report and $2.3 billion lower than what was estimated in the fall economic statement, according to its updated economic and fiscal monitor report released Thursday. 'The revision to our estimated deficit reflects a $5.2-billion increase in our estimate for revenues in 2024-25, somewhat offset by a $1-billion increase in our estimate for expenses,' the PBO said. The higher revenues are mainly due to higher corporate income tax revenues and customs import duties from the retaliatory tariffs on goods from the United States. The federal government currently has tariffs on nearly $60-billion worth of U.S. goods. In April, the Liberal Party estimated the federal government could receive up to $20 billion in revenue from the retaliatory tariffs, according to its election-costed platform. But a recent report by Oxford Economics Ltd. this month said 58 per cent of the U.S. imports hit by levies are eligible for exemption. The PBO also said the average Canadian family will save $280 on their taxes next year because of the federal government's planned income tax cut to 14.5 per cent from 15 per cent on the first $57,375 of taxable income. Canadian economic growth came in higher than expected during the first quarter at 2.2 per cent, but the PBO expects it to be flat in the second quarter due to a slowdown in exports and business investment. The federal government has not committed to providing a spring federal budget. Instead, Prime Minister Mark Carney said the government will provide an update of Canada's finances in the fall. He has also said he will split operational and capital spending into two separate budgets, with a promise to balance the operational budget within three years. The PBO said the government has committed to new fiscal anchors in the operating budget by 'cutting waste, capping the public service, ending duplication and deploying technology to improve public sector productivity' and reducing the spending growth to two per cent each year from nine per cent. The Liberal Party platform has promised $130 billion in net new spending over the next four years, which will put the deficit at $62.3 billion for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Economists estimate the deficit will be higher after taking into account the announcement last week to increase defence spending. 'Unlike the previous fiscal anchor, the government has not defined how the new operating budget targets will be measured,' the PBO's report said. 'Specifically, there is no commonly accepted definition of what is defined as 'operating' or 'non-operating/capital' spending.' GST break could cost Ottawa $2.7 billion Feds face loss if Trans Mountain pipeline sold: PBO The PBO said it will be difficult for it to assess whether the government is on track in meeting its fiscal objectives under this new budget set-up. 'PBO also notes that the government could fulfill its operating budget goals, and yet at the same time the federal debt-to-GDP ratio could grow because of additional borrowing for non-operating spending (for example, new acquisitions of weapons systems for the Canadian military),' it said. 'This means that the government could achieve its fiscal objective and yet be fiscally unsustainable.' • Email: jgowling@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Globe and Mail
11-06-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Proposed GST rebate for some first-time homebuyers could reach $27,000, PBO says
The federal government's proposed GST rebate for first-time homebuyers will provide an average subsidy of roughly $27,000 to more than 71,000 buyers, an analysis from the Parliamentary Budget Officer says. The government is proposing to cut its 5-per-cent GST entirely for first-time buyers that are purchasing a new or substantially renovated home valued at $1-million or less, and to partially cut the GST for new homes valued between $1-million and $1.5-million. The projections were made for the life of the program, which is expected to start in 2025 and end in 2031. The PBO – which provides independent and non-partisan financial analysis of proposed bills – projected that 4.8 per cent of housing completions would be purchased by buyers benefitting from this rebate. A calculation by Desjardins this week found that a $50,000 GST subsidy on a $1-million home could save a homebuyer up to $240 a month in mortgage payments. The best time to make a lump-sum mortgage payment, according to the experts The federal government's new proposed GST rebate comes as the original GST rebate for new housing builds largely falls out of relevance. The original rules provide a 36-per-cent rebate on GST for new construction for any buyer – not just first-time buyers – on homes valued up to $350,000. Smaller rebates are available for homes valued up to $450,000. The value for this rebate has changed by only a small amount since it was introduced in the 1980s, and as a result numbers from the PBO show that only 4 per cent of housing completions in the largest 17 census metropolitan areas were eligible for the full 36-per-cent rebate in 2024.
National Post
10-06-2025
- Business
- National Post
GST cut for new homebuyers could mean price hikes, bank warns
OTTAWA — The federal government's plan to eliminate the GST on first-time homebuyers' purchases of most new homes may actually lead to higher prices, a new report says. Article content The report, by Desjardins Economics' Kari Norman, found that the federal policy to eliminate or reduce the GST on newly built homes priced up to $1.5 million for first-time homebuyers may cut upfront costs. But without a corresponding increase in the supply of homes to quell the housing crisis, the bank economists say, the federal policy may just boost demand and the home prices that the government intends to help suppress. Article content Article content Article content The report also warns that the rebate could distort the market because homebuilders might anticipate homebuyers' increased purchasing power and simply raise sticker prices on new homes. Another possible problem is that the rebate might encourage first-time buyers to rush purchases in anticipation of rising prices, Desjardins says, leading to a short-term sales spike that would likely be followed by a slump. Article content Article content With the federal Parliamentary Budget Officer set to release an assessment Wednesday on the fiscal costs of the GST rebate on first-time homebuyers, Desjardins voiced concern that the policy will also mean that the benefits to buyers may be partly offset if the increased demand for homes leads to an increase in the costs of labour and building supplies. Article content Article content Instead, Desjardins suggests that Ottawa mitigate the risk of demand outpacing supply by bundling the GST rebate with policies that would accelerate the pace of home building. The report says those other policies include streamlining permitting processes, investing in innovative practices, addressing skilled labour shortages and improving zoning flexibility. Article content Paul Smetanin, the president of the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis, said he agrees with Desjardins' concern about the GST rebate because the policy will increase demand and prices and give developers the chance to simply increase profits.
Epoch Times
18-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
Tories Promise to Cut Consultant Spending, Liberals Say This Election ‘Most Consequential'
As advance polling entered the third day on April 20, the Conservatives pledged to eliminate the ' Speaking at a 'Ten billion dollars less for high-priced consultants means $10 billion less inflation means $10 billion more affordable life for Canadians,' the Tory leader told reporters. The move is part of the broader plan to end the 'out-of-control inflationary spending' by the Liberal government in the past decade and to 'bring home affordable prices and food for all Canadians,' he said. The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) reported in 2023 that – 23, with the largest spendings in categories such as engineering and architectural services, business services, information services, health and welfare services, and management consulting. Poilievre said 'overspending' by the Liberal government has driven up taxes as well as food and housing costs. Related Stories 4/19/2025 4/19/2025 'Inflation is what happens when governments spend money they don't have, so they just print the cash. More money bidding on a fixed supply of goods equals higher prices for everything,' he said. Statistics Canada on April 15 Besides capping spending, Poilievre pledged he would get rid of the Impact Assessment Act, previously known as 'We will unleash our economy by removing anti-development laws, red tape, and destructive taxes to add a half a trillion dollars of extra economic growth over the next five years,' he said. His proposals will generate an extra $70 billion in tax revenue, 'without higher taxes, but instead using higher growth,' he added. The amount, Poilievre said, was a number Poilievre also took aim at the 'A fourth Liberal government would bring in a quarter trillion dollars of additional debt. That's inflationary debt that will drive up the cost of food, housing, and everything else you buy,' the Conservative leader said. Carney's platform forecasts adding some $225 billion to the federal debt over the same four-year period. The Liberal leader had defended the proposal during his platform announcement, saying it is 'not a normal fall update, budget lockup.' 'We are in the middle of the biggest crisis of our lifetimes, and this is a plan that meets that moment in a way that is very prudent with people's hard-earned tax dollars, but bold in terms of where this country can go,' Carney said while at a campaign stop in Whitby, Ontario, on April 19. Carney commented that the Liberal government had been 'spending too much' previously and promised he would bring down the growth of federal spending from 9 percent to 2 percent. 'Most Consequential' On Sunday afternoon, April 20, Carney held a In line with remarks made at previous campaign stops, the Liberal leader framed the upcoming election as a critical moment for Canada's future, repeating one of his key lines—that 'we're in a crisis' because Canada's 'old relationship [with the United States] is over,' due to the tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. 'This is the most consequential vote of our lifetimes,' Carney told supporters. 'We need a leader who can stand up to [Trump].' At one point during the rally, Carney touted his achievements as prime minister, such as ending the federal Carney's campaign on the same day issued a A day earlier, speaking at a Poilievre has a press conference scheduled on Monday morning, April 21. 'Price Gouging' NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was in Victoria, B.C., on Sunday, where he promised to put 'emergency price caps' on food essentials and to legislate protections against what his party views as 'unjustified markups on Canadian goods' that constitute 'price gouging.' 'If you're raising prices on Canadian goods when the producers haven't changed a thing—that's not inflation. That's gouging,' Singh said in a Singh's plan also includes a mandatory 'Grocery Code of Conduct,' which his party said will 'hold big retailers accountable and ensure workers aren't penalized.' The NDP will also impose a 'windfall tax on grocery profits,' among the changes that the party said will be included in the first federal budget after the election if the NDP is elected to form government. Chandra Philip contributed to this report.
