Delean: Despite the costs of the pandemic, taxpayers will not be squeezed in 2022

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With inflation and COVID-19 infections on the rise and the economic recovery faltering, governments have chosen not to pressure taxpayers, yet, to fund their mounting pandemic spending.

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The federal and provincial tax rates for 2022 will be roughly the same as this year. Quebec’s personal income tax system and social assistance benefits will get an indexation adjustment of 2.64 percent, while Ottawa will adjust their figures by 2.4 percent.

Lower-middle-income Quebecers will receive a special one-time payment of $ 200 to $ 400 from the province next month to help them cope with increases in the cost of living. Driver’s license renewals will also be roughly $ 60 cheaper in 2022 and 2023. Parents with children in unsubsidized child care facilities will get an enhanced credit on their 2021 provincial tax returns.

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Low-income Quebecers aged 70 and over will see a slight reduction in their provincial tax burden when they complete their 2021 returns due to a recently announced modification to the senior assistance tax credit. There will also be a boost to the tax credit for in-home support services for seniors, beginning in fiscal year 2022.

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In July, Canadians 75 and older will get a permanent 10 percent increase in their Ottawa old-age security checks, a move announced in 2021 by the Liberal government.

The more than 2.2 million Quebecers who receive monthly checks from the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) will see a cost-of-living adjustment of 2.7 percent starting in January.

Changes are also taking place on the expense side of the ledger.

Hydro-Québec will increase electricity rates by 2.6% in April. That’s double the increase since 2021.

Quebec’s prescription drug plan, which any adult not covered by a private health plan must adhere to, raised its maximum premium to $ 710 for the 12-month period ending June 2022, up from $ 662 from the same period last year. That is loaded on provincial tax returns, which are due at the end of April.

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2020 tax balances are also due at the end of April, for those who availed themselves of the penalty-free option of delaying payment for a year because they received COVID assistance from the government.

Quebec’s employment insurance and parental insurance plan premiums are frozen at 2021 rates, but due to an upward adjustment in the salary thresholds at which they are charged, many employees will pay around $ 60 more for those. programs in 2022.

QPP dues are increasing again, significantly, as the contribution rate for employees increases to 6.15 percent of eligible salary, compared to 5.9 percent in 2021. Those earning $ 64,900 or more they will pay the maximum of $ 3,776 to QPP in 2022. The maximum in 2021 was $ 3,427. Two years ago, it cost $ 3,146.

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The average residential tax increase in Montreal in 2022 will be two percent, as promised during Mayor Valérie Plante’s recent election campaign.

And what about his election promise of free public transportation for seniors? That’s for 2023. We’ll know next year if the city can still afford it.

The Montreal Gazette invites readers to ask questions about taxes, investments, and personal finance matters. If you have a query you would like to address, please email it to Paul Delean at [email protected].