Under the Liberal’s watch the Finance Department leaked like a sieve, divulging tax treats well ahead of budget day. There’s no guarantee Stephen Harper will take the same approach. But given the secrecy surrounding his cabinet appointment, it’s pretty likely Harper will attempt keep things under wraps prior to his first budget, which could be tabled as early as April.

Still, some assumptions about the next federal budget can be drawn from the campaign trail. Of course whether any of Harper’s promises will pass or if he will try to cram them all into his first stab at drafting a budget is an open question. Here are some things to look for:

  • Eliminating of the capital gains tax in respect of listed stocks donated to charities.
  • Reducing the small business tax rate to 11% over five years and increasing the small business deduction to $400,000 from $300,000.
  • Allowing investors to defer capital gains tax on investments as long as the money is re-invested within six months.
  • Following through with the Liberals’ pledge to eliminate the federal capital tax as of Jan. 1, 2006.
  • Exempting the first $10,000 of student scholarships and bursary income from taxation. This might be folded in with the current education amount under which $5,000 of expenses can be transferred to parents. The Tories’ current plan also calls for a $500 tax credit for the purchase of textbooks.
  • Introducing a monthly transit pass tax credit. This would be similar to the $500 employment expense deduction that was eliminated a few years ago, which was an acknowledgement by the tax system of the cost of going to work.
  • Offering employers up to $10,000 for each new child care space created for employees.
  • Creating a tax credit of 10% of wages paid for eligible apprentices for a maximum of two years. This will address the issue of training people to replace retiring boomers, although the types of positions that will be consider for this still need to be defined.
  • Scrapping the recent Liberal measures that reduced the lowest personal income tax rate from 16% to 15%.
  • Allowing the tax free transfer of assets to family members.
  • And, of course, the politically popular, yet some argue questionable, reduction of the GST, scheduled to be cut by one percentage point as soon as possible (perhaps as early as April), and a second percentage point within five years.

Filed by Mark Brown, Advisor.ca, mark.brown@advisor.rogers.com

(02/09/06)