The Red Deer and District Chamber is disappointed by the 2024 federal budget.
The chamber said Wednesday, despite several positives, overall, “there are no efforts to boost productivity and innovation in the country which is sorely needed for economic growth.”
“The budget’s tagline is ‘Fair- ness for every generation’; however, it is unlikely that the spending will improve conditions and continuing to increase taxes and spending will simply add to the inflation and GDP stagnation that we are facing, as public debt reaches record highs,” said chamber CEO Scott Robinson.
The chamber highlighted carbon tax rebates for small business, new framework for open banking, and a target of 3.87 million net new homes as positives.
“However, our city has yet to be successful in securing funding support through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CHMC) Housing Accelerator Program, despite being the 56th most populated city in the country and a vacancy rate of 0.8 percent for 2023. We are hopeful to see additional federal investment in our city and have identified recommendations to all levels of government in the Chamber’s Homelessness Task Force Report,” the chamber noted in its release about the budget.
Robinson pointed to concerns about the increase of capital gains tax, the 39.8 billion deficits for 2024-25 and $53 billion in new spending over the next five years.
“The federal government’s 2024 budget was an opportunity to enhance economic growth and set the country on a new path, toward prosperity and investment,” Robinson said.
“In our view the initiatives suggested by the federal government will not benefit Red Deer and district, or indeed much of the country”. The Federal Budget presented by the Government yesterday just solidify how important it is for Chambers across Canada to advocate for economic growth, innovation, and productivity policies our country needs.”
Finance Minister Chrystia Freelandsaid the 2024 budget is designed to “unlock the door to the middle class” for more Canadians. The budget document itself uses the word fairness 50 separate times.
There is $8.5 billion in new spending over the next five years to build millions of new homes and nearly $2.6 billion to enhance student aid and grant programs and open up new job opportunities.
“We are acting today to ensure fairness for every generation,” Freeland said.
Overall, the budget’s projected spending will rise to $535 billion in 2024-25, compared with $497.5 billion in 2023-24. The deficit is projected at $39.8 billion, compared with $40 billion last year.
There is $11.5 billion in new spending this year and $53 billion over the next five years.
Freeland said she is maintaining the fiscal anchors she set for the government, keeping the deficit below $40 billion and to less than one per cent of GDP starting in 2026-27.
Ottawa is paying for some of that with better-than-expected economic growth, but also with targeted changes to the capital gains tax that are expected to raise more than $19 billion over the next five years.
Currently Canadians only pay taxes on 50 per cent of the money they make from capital gains, which refers mainly to profits made from selling an asset like a stock.
Freeland is adjusting that to 66 per cent for all capital gains made by corporations and trusts, and for those that exceed $250,000 for individuals.
-With files from the Canadian Press