The Progressive Conservative government of Ontario will present its budget for 2022 on Thursday afternoon, outlining not only its fiscal priorities for the year, but also the framework for their re-election campaign.
For months, Prime Minister Doug Ford and his PC MPP have been making campaign-style stops in cities across the province to uncover little by little some voter-friendly treats that will be inside the document.
It is clear from these reports that while the 2021 budget acted as a way out of the pandemic, this year it is all about accessibility and building infrastructure.
The live budget show will start on CP24 at 16:00 and will be broadcast on CP24.com and the CP24 app.
Here’s what you need to know:
There will probably be no real debate on this budget in the legislature, as the deadline for withdrawing the order – May 4 – is fast approaching. The government may also choose to postpone the meeting as soon as the budget is submitted, effectively ensuring that the document becomes their election platform.
The budget was originally scheduled to be submitted on March 31, which would give the legislature enough time to discuss and discuss the details, but in February the Ford government introduced legislation that would extend that deadline until the end of April. In practice, this meant that personal computers had to rewrite one of their own laws introduced in 2019, which would force both Ford and the finance minister to pay a penalty for missing the deadline.
At the time, the PC government said the deadline needed to be pushed to give them time to review the latest financial forecasts as Ontario came out of the limitations of COVID-19.
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE BUDGET SO FAR?
Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvi said the budget would be “Ontario’s economic recovery plan” and would include funding for highways, transit, hospitals and other key infrastructure projects.
Gluttonies previously announced include about $ 3 billion to renovate hospitals, hundreds of millions of dollars to build electric vehicles and about $ 500 million this year to build and renovate schools, while adding childcare facilities. .
There are a number of other projects, including the Bradford Bypass and Highway 413, to which no price labels are currently attached.
Sources confirmed to CP24 on Wednesday night that Ford will increase the eligibility of the low-income (LIFT) tax credit from $ 38,000 to $ 50,000 in the 2022 budget.
The change would mean that 1.1 million will receive an average of $ 300 more in tax breaks in 2022, a source said.
Reducing the income tax for low-income people is in line with Ford’s 2022 budget theme – affordability.
Some of the more populist moves include the abolition of license plate renewal fees, something Ontario residents will already be aware of if they receive a check in the mail.
In February, the government announced that fees for renewing license plates and related stickers for cars, vans, motorcycles and mopeds would be removed, a move that would save Ontario residents about $ 120 a year.
Drivers who do not have unpaid parking tickets and whose addresses were up to date were required to receive a refund of retroactive charges by March 2020.
These fees, according to the Ontario Financial Accounting Officer (FAO), brought about $ 1.95 billion in revenue to the government in 2018-2019. The budget should outline how much this promise will cost computers.
The Ford government has also made a number of other budget announcements about affordability, including a 50-cent increase in the minimum wage and a reduction in gas and fuel taxes over a six-month period.
FAO in Ontario Peter Weltman told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday that there were questions about how Ford plans to fund these campaign promises.
“This license plate sticker, cut over a five-year period, costs about $ 6.7 billion. It’s not just a billion dollars. And secondly, this money must be borrowed, “he said.
Weltman added that Ontario is in a relatively strong fiscal position and could see “great growth” over the next few years.
In April, the FAO said the province was on track to balance its budget by 2023-24.
At the same time, the budgetary authority predicts that expenditure will grow by an average of 3.6% per year over the next five years due to this type of expenditure commitment.
With files from Siobhan Morris and Canadian Press
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