MONEY MATTERS

TAX BREAKS

Each party is promising to provide tax relief for Canadians, but in very different ways.

CONSERVATIVES

Stephen Harper’s Conservatives, before the campaign, introduced their “family tax cut,” which allows couples with children under age 18 to split up to $50,000 of income for tax purposes, but caps the nonrefundable benefit at $2,000.

The Tories also have boosted the annual contribution limit for tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) to $10,000 from $5,500.

The Conservatives have lowered the federal corporate tax rate to 15 per cent and are promising to reduce the small business tax rate to nine per cent from the current 11 per cent by 2019.

They also promise a “tax lock” that would prohibit increases to federal personal and business taxes, “discretionary payroll taxes” such as the Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance over the next four years.

NDP

Tom Mulcair’s New Democrats would cancel the Conservatives’ income-splitting plan for families, arguing it benefits only the wealthiest 15 per cent of Canadians.

The NDP would reverse changes to TFSA contributions limits because the party says the increase mostly benefits the wealthy and does little for the middle class.

It would increase the income-tax rate on Canada’s largest corporations to 17 per cent from the current 15 per cent on Jan. 1, a move it expects will generate an extra $3.7 billion annually to help pay for promises. The party is committed to cutting the small business tax rate to nine per cent from the current 11 per cent.

LIBERALS

Justin Trudeau’s Liberals would cut the middle class income-tax bracket to 20.5 per cent from current 22 per cent and increase taxes on the richest Canadians with a new tax bracket of 33 per cent for annual incomes of more than $200,000.

The party would cancel the Conservatives’ income splitting for families, a policy the Liberals call a $2-billion tax break to the top 15 per cent of Canadians. It would cancel the TFSA increase to $10,000.

The Liberals would leave the corporate tax rate at 15 per cent. The party supports lowering the small business tax rate to nine per cent, but Trudeau says he wants to ensure the reduction doesn’t benefit wealthy Canadians, many of whom he says use small businesses to avoid paying taxes.

BOTTOM LINE

The Tories are focused on tax cuts and credits; the NDP would hold personal taxes neutral but ding large corporations; and the Liberals would go after rich individuals but give larger breaks to middle-class families.