This week Canadians received the official 2024 Federal Budget. Ottawa is expected to spend $52.9 billion more than planned over the next five years. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland projects Ottawa will post a $40 billion deficit this fiscal year. The budget includes $8.5 billion in new spending for housing. Other major budget items include a $6 billion Canada Disability Benefit, a $1 billion national school food program and a $500-million fund for youth mental health. Freeland will hike capital gain taxes paid by the individuals and corporations to collect an estimated $19 billion in new revenue.
The cost to service the growing national debt has increased substantially — it's now about $2 billion more than it was projected to be just a few months ago. The government will spend more on servicing its debt than on health care this year.
From a tax perspective, the largest single change is the increase to the capital gains inclusion rate from one-half to two-thirds for corporations and trusts, and on the portion of capital gains realized by individuals in the year that exceeds $250,000.
CI Assante's Wealth Planning Group has partnered with CI Global Asset Management’s Advisor Consulting, Tax, Retirement and Estate Planning (TREP) team to bring you the 2024 Federal Budget Commentary, providing important budget updates and insights on what they could mean for your bottom line.
Do not hesitate to reach out to our team should you have any questions on the PDF file below.