Please note the Budget did not propose many changes to the Federal Income Tax laws. The Federal personal income tax rates remain unchanged. In addition, both the Federal general and small business corporate income tax rates remain unchanged.
There will be discussion papers regarding income sprinkling to family members, as well as corporately held portfolios, yet nothing definitive has been released at this time.
There were some relatively minor changes made to the Federal tax laws. The following is a brief summary of some of the tax measures that will impact some of our clients that were introduced by the Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau on March 22, 2017.
Public Transit Tax Credit
The budget eliminates the public transit tax credit effective July 1, 2017.
Caregiver credits
The budget introduces a new Canada Caregiver Credit that replaces the existing caregiver credit, infirm dependent credit and family caregiver tax credit. The amounts which can be claimed will be consistent with what could be claimed previously. This new credit applies to 2017 and subsequent tax years.
Tuition tax credit for occupational skills courses
The budget extends the eligibility criteria for the 15% tuition tax credit to fees for occupational skills courses that are not at the post-secondary level. Of course, the tuition credit will remain for university, college or any other post-secondary institutions.
Alcohol tax
The budget proposes to increase the excise duty rates on alcohol products by 2% effective March 23, 2017.
Conclusion
Over-all this budget proposed very little changes in the existing Federal Income Tax laws.
Please note that the above are proposed changes to the Federal tax laws; however, in almost all instances, they are ultimately passed into law by the members of Parliament.
If you have any questions, please contact the office – we’re glad to be of assistance.