MONEY MATTERS
TAX BREAKS
Each party is promising tax relief, but in different ways.
Conservatives
• Stephen Harper’s party, before the campaign, introduced a “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 non-refundable benefit at $2,000.
• The Tories have boosted the annual contribution limit for tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) to $10,000 from $5,500.
• They have lowered the federal corporate tax rate to 15 per cent and promise to reduce the small business tax rate to nine per cent from the current 11 per cent by 2019.
NDP
• Tom Mulcair’s party would cancel the Conservatives’ income-splitting plan for families, arguing it benefits only the wealthiest 15 per cent.
• The NDP would reverse changes to TFSA limits, saying the increase mostly benefits the wealthy and does little for the middle class.
• It would increase the income-tax rate on large corporations to 17 per cent from 15 per cent on Jan. 1, which it expects will generate $3.7 billion annually to help pay for promises.
Liberals
• Justin Trudeau’s party would cut the middle class income-tax bracket to 20.5 per cent from 22 per cent and increase taxes on the rich with a new tax bracket of 33 per cent for incomes over $200,000.
• The party would cancel the 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.
• 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 the wealthy.
BALANCED BUDGETS
Conservatives
• The Conservatives balanced the books one year ahead of schedule, with a $1.9-billion surplus in the 2014-15 fiscal year. Their April budget projected balanced budgets over the next five years but those projections were based on stronger growth and higher oil prices.
• The government posted a $5.2-billion surplus in the first four months of the current fiscal year.
NDP
• Mulcair promises to balance the books for four consecutive years, beginning in 201617. The party says hiking corporate taxes and cancelling some of the Conservatives’ spending initiatives such as income-splitting will help balance the ledger.
Liberals
• The Liberals are gambling by promising to run red ink. They would axe the balanced budget law to allow for three years of deficits totalling $25 billion to invest in infrastructure to help spur the economy. TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP The TPP is a trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim nations covering almost 40 per cent of the global economy.
Conservatives
• The government agreed to limited concessions in some sensitive areas, including supply-managed dairy and poultry sectors, and automobiles and auto parts.
NDP
• Mulcair says he would not be bound by the TPP agreement and wouldn’t implement the deal, insisting Harper “sold out” Canada’s auto sector and dairy farmers.
Liberals
• Trudeau says a Liberal government would scrutinize the TPP deal, but hinted the party supports it. He says the Liberals have “resolutely and consistently” been pro-trade.