With a variety of fiscal and policy measures announced in the federal budget, here’s a look at some of the winners and losers:
Winner: Small Business
Carbon tax rebates for small businesses are coming, five years after consumers started receiving their share. The measure is “a huge relief,” said Dan Kelly of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which represents the sector. The budget says up to 600,000 small businesses would be eligible for a share of $2.5 billion.
Loser: tobacco industry
The federal government will collect an additional $4 per box of 200 cigarettes starting Wednesday, on top of the $1.49 added on April 1 as part of an automatic adjustment for inflation. For vaping products, flagged in the budget as a public health issue affecting younger Canadians who have been “lured by attractive marketing,” vaping excise tax rates will increase by 12 per cent, or between 12 and 24 cents per typical vaping pod. Together, the measures should generate around $1.7 billion over the next five years.
Winner (finally): fintech companies
Long-promised details of a framework for open banking – a system that allows consumers to easily access their financial data across multiple institutions, apps and services – were revealed in Tuesday’s budget, although specific details are being reserved for The legislation is presented before the end of the year. year. It appoints the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada to oversee and enforce the system and sets out six core elements for the framework.
The budget also reserves $4.1 million over three years for the Department of Finance to complete the policy work necessary to establish and maintain the entity and oversight framework. The financial sector will welcome any clarity on this file after years of watching the issue drag on, but it is unclear what the implementation timeline will be.
Loser: Canadian pension funds
Some of the winners and losers of the 2024 federal budget. #CDNPoli #Budget2024
A growing debate has emerged over whether the country’s largest pension funds should invest more capital in Canada. They say they already invest here and that higher returns can be found abroad, while supporters of the measure argue that money should be spent to help improve productivity and business investment at home. The government says it will create a working group headed by Finance Minister and former Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz to explore ways to stimulate spending in Canada, but it doesn’t appear to have much traction.
Meanwhile, the government says it will require financial regulator OSFI to publish information on the investments of large federally regulated pension plans. That could lead to even greater scrutiny from climate change activists and interest groups hoping to influence investment decisions.
Winner: Mobile phone and Internet users
Wireless costs are too high, telecoms industry observers told parliamentarians studying cell phone plans earlier this year, even as prices have been falling in recent years.
In the budget, the government says it will make it easier to renew or switch between mobile phone plans, something advocates say makes it easier to get a better rate. It will also require carriers to provide some type of self-service option, such as an online portal, so customers can switch plans more easily.
Loser: Entertainment Lovers
Canadians have long complained about rising ticket prices for concerts and sports games. Those prices are more exorbitant when tickets are purchased from scalpers who gobble up seats using “bot” technology the moment they go on sale, keeping them out of the reach of fans.
The budget says the federal government will work with provinces and territories to adopt ticketing best practices that reduce unexpected charges during the purchasing process, crack down on fraudulent sellers and ensure Canadians get timely refunds when purchased. cancel the events. However, it does not offer any plan with enforceable measures or timelines to achieve these feats, which could leave Canadians fighting resellers for longer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2024.
This is a corrected story. An earlier version said the budget was released Wednesday.