BRUNTHA GAROONANEDHI, 32, AND HUSBAND SELVAKUMAR POOLOGASINGAM, 42, PARENTS OF A 7-YEAR-OLD SON, CHERAN
Residence: Pickering
Occupations: Bruntha is a self-employed insurance adviser, and Selvakumar is a machine operator at a pastry making company.
Annual income: Household income between $85,000 and $89,000.
Bruntha Garoonanedhi is a major supporter of Justin Trudeau’s proposed tax cuts for the middle class.
She and her husband bought their first house, a three-bedroom home, two years ago, so like many Canadians they’re facing household bills, a mortgage — and they have their son Cheran to take care of too.
“The tax cuts for the middle class — it’s amazing. I fell in love with it and I support it,” Garoonanedhi said in an interview.
“We pay so much in taxes right now. It’ll be a huge advantage, what Justin Trudeau is doing.”
Currently the couple receives the Conservative government’s new $60-a-month universal child care benefit.
Trudeau wants to introduce his new Canada child benefit plan, which is income-specific and where families with children and annual incomes below $150,000 receive more than they do currently.
A family with a household income of $200,000 and one child would receive no money under the Trudeau plan — compared to $1,425 a year now.
Garoonanedhi estimates that with Trudeau’s tax cuts for the middle class, and his new child benefit, her family would see an extra $2,500 a year.
“We’re in the middle class. Raising kids is really expensive with things like extracurriculars. A little bit more on the table can help people like me,” Garoonanedhi says.
Those extracurricular activities will include starting Cheran in classical music lessons on the miruthangam, a type of Indian drum.
Cheran is also taking math-related classes his mother believes will help him improve his focus and organization skills in school. These lessons are private.
“The middle class is the majority of Canadians, so a lot of people will benefit from these cuts,” Garoonanedhi says of Trudeau’s plan.