Ten budgetary measures that will affect you in 2023-2024 | Federal Budget 2023
Alcohol excise tax increase is limited to 2% this year.
One-time rebate for groceries, a new Canadian dental plan, 2% cap on alcohol excise tax. We present 10 measures from the 2023-2024 federal budget that may affect you.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland's budget includes a one-time grocery rebate, a $2.5 billion measure that will benefit 11 million low- and modest-income individuals and families. Depending on income, couples with two children will be able to receive up to $467, single people will receive up to $234, while it will be up to $225 for seniors. This is a one-time payment, modeled after the doubled GST rebate in the last federal budget.
Ottawa is spending $13 billion over 5 years to create the Canadian Dental Care Plan. This plan, which will come into effect in 2023, will cover dental care for uninsured individuals whose annual family income is less than $90,000. Anyone with an annual income of less than $70,000 would not have to pay a copayment.
Excise duties on alcohol are automatically indexed to the consumer price index at the beginning of each fiscal year. But Ottawa is capping the alcohol excise tax adjustment at 2% for one year only, starting April 1.
Chaos at airports over the holiday season and endless lines last spring to renew passports: Federal government service delivery has not been easy for the past few months. The Freeland Budget provides $1.8 billion in funding over five years to the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) to maintain and improve its level of service, shorten security screening wait times and strengthen security measures at airports. To fund this proposal, Ottawa will increase the Air Travelers Security Charge by 32%. For example, the fee for a round-trip domestic flight will increase from $14.96 to $19.87 as of May.
The Trudeau government is also proposing to amend the Act on Canada's transportation to require airports and air carriers to share and report data.
Finally, Ottawa will provide Veterans Affairs Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Veterans Affairs Tribunal with $156.7 million over five years to reduce application backlogs and support service delivery across multiple programs and services. .
The Liberal government announces that credit card issuers Visa and Mastercard have pledged to lower their fees for small businesses, while protecting Canadian consumer rewards points offered by major Canadian banks. More than 90% of businesses that accept credit cards will see their interchange fees reduced by up to 27% from the current weighted average rate. These reductions are expected to save eligible small businesses approximately $1 billion over five years.
Our full Federal Budget 2023 brief
The Minister of Finance announces that she is increasing Canada Student Grants by 40% to provide up to $4,200 for full-time students. Ottawa is also raising the limit on interest-free Canada Student Loans from $210 to $300 per week of study. Finally, adult students over the age of 22 will no longer have to pass a credit test in order to be eligible for federal student grants and loans for the first time.
Budget 2023-2024 announces two initiatives likely to be of interest to consumers. Ottawa is considering the establishment of a standardized charging port in the country, with the aim of reducing electronic waste. Finally, the federal government will work to establish a right to repair with the goal of putting in place a targeted framework for appliances and electronics in 2024.
Did you know that up to 12% of Canadians don't file their taxes? In doing so, they ignore the assistance measures to which they would be entitled, such as the Canada child benefit and the guaranteed income supplement. Starting in 2024, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will pilot a new automatic filing service that will help vulnerable people. The CRA will then present a plan in 2024 to expand this service.
It was announced in the last Freeland budget, but the tax-free savings account for the purchase of a first home will be offered by financial institutions starting April 1. This new plan will save potential buyers up to $40,000 tax-free.
Ottawa wants to amend the Criminal Code to reduce the criminal interest rate of the equivalent of 47% to 35% at an annualized rate, which corresponds to the lowest ceiling of the provinces. This rate is in effect in Quebec. The government will also launch consultations to determine whether this interest rate should be lowered further. In addition, the feds want to change the Criminal Code exemption for payday loans to require lenders to invoice $14 per $100 borrowed, at most, in accordance with the lowest cap in the provinces, in effect. in Newfoundland and Labrador.
