Ont. budget to include tax hikes on high income earners: document
Posted April 29, 2014 8:15 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Ontario budget, to be unveiled on Thursday, will include tax increases for high income earners as well as on aviation fuel and tobacco, according to a document obtained by The Canadian Press.
The news agency says the document was provided to them by a source outside the Liberal government.
The document — said to be a 2014 budget overview prepared for the cabinet — does not specifically define high income earners, but a Toronto Star report quotes sources as saying the new tax will be levied on income earned above $150,000.
It will apply to individuals, not to households with a combined income over $150,000.
Finance Minister Charles Sousa’s spokesman Andrew Chornenky would not confirm or deny the authenticity of the document.
The Toronto Star also reported that personal support workers will receive a $4 raise, bringing their pay from $12.50 an hour to $16.50. The increase will be phased in over the next two years.
The Star said there are about 34,000 personal support workers in the province and the raise will cost Ontario $50 million.
The tax increase on high-income earners could bring in $650 million.
Premier Kathleen Wynne said her party is ready for a provincial election if the budget doesn’t pass.
The Liberal minority government is facing the possibility of a spring election but Wynne said she would “partner” with the Conservatives or the NDP — or, if necessary, voters to push the transit plan through.
Sousa announced the date of a budget at a press conference on April 15. Wynne said the budget will “present a fair, balanced, realistic plan to create jobs for today and tomorrow.”
With files from The Canadian Press
