OTTAWA — The Liberal government will provide an update on federal finances before MPs head home for the holidays.
“Our plan is to have a fiscal update before Christmas so we can update Canadians on the state of the economy,” Finance Minister Bill Morneau said after he took the first step to provide a tax cut the Liberals promised during the election campaign.
On Monday, Morneau introduced a motion to raise the basic personal income tax exemption to $15,000.
The amendments to the Income Tax Act, if passed, would apply to anyone earning under $147,000 a year.
Morneau said the change will be implemented over the next four years and will save the average Canadian family $585 a year.
Morneau also said that about 20 million Canadians would see a tax reduction and that 1.1 million more Canadians would pay no federal tax at all.
“We were very clear in the campaign that we wanted to reduce taxes,” Morneau said.
Over the weekend, the Conservatives called on Morneau to provide a fiscal update immediately as economic concerns mount following a poor jobs report late last week.
Morneau did not have a specific date for when he would provide the update to Ottawa’s fiscal status.
(Canadian Press)
