A variety of fiscal and policy measures are announced in the federal budget. Some will benefit from these steps. Some will suffer again. Let’s see who will benefit from this budget. Who will be affected?
Carbon tax rebates for small businesses are coming five years after consumers get their share. It’s a big relief for small businesses, said Dan Kelly of the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses. About 600,000 small businesses will get a share of 250 million dollars, the budget said.
The federal government has started charging an additional $4 per carton of 200 cigarettes. This $4 is in addition to the $1.49 added since April 1 as part of the automatic inflation adjustment. In addition, the vaping excise duty will increase from 12 percent, or 12 to 14 cents, for each typical vape pod. This will generate $1.7 billion in revenue for the government over the next five years.
The long-promised open banking framework was unveiled in the April 16 budget. However, its details have been kept under wraps until the legislation is introduced at the end of this year. The act is named the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. It will be tasked with overseeing and implementing the system and defining the basic six elements of the framework. The financial sector welcomed the move.
There has been a huge debate over whether the country’s largest pension fund should invest more capital inside Canada. They say that they have already invested in the country and investing abroad can bring more returns. However, many say that pension fund money should be spent on improving the country’s productivity and business investment situation. The government has announced the establishment of a working group led by Stephen Poloz, Minister of Finance and former Governor of the Bank of Canada, to verify whether there is an opportunity to increase investment within Canada. But the group doesn’t seem to have enough power.
In the budget, the government promised to make it easier to renew or transfer cellphone plans. As a result, it will be easy to take advantage of the best rates of cellphones, the stakeholders feel.
Canadians have long complained about the high prices of concert and sports tickets. Buying those tickets from resellers makes them even more expensive. The federal government has announced it will work with the provinces and territories in the budget to follow best practices in ticketing.
