Ontario released its 2017 budget on Thursday and it included few new taxes or fees — a shift from recent years as the Liberals cobbled together revenues to help balance their books.
The books are finally balanced, but that doesn’t mean your taxes are going down. There are, however a handful of pocketbook issues that build on the Liberals’ recent moves to end the fee for Drive Clean tests, offer free tuition to low-and-middle-income-students, and promises to build tens of thousands of new childcare spaces in coming years.
Here are six ways, good and bad, the 2017 budget will hit your wallet:
No change to provincial or corporate income taxes
For anyone hoping balanced books would mean padded paycheques, the 2017 budget is a disappointment. Nor are there cuts to the provincial portion of the HST or corporate tax rates. Instead, the Liberals are choosing to spend increased revenues on expanded programs.
A hotel tax?
The budget will allow cities to impose a hotel tax, which could affect travellers in areas that decide to go that route. It’s possible it’s also one way the province and cities will work together to tax AirBnB and other home-sharing services.
Free drugs for kids under 24
Ontario will become the first province to offer pharmacare to all young people, regardless of income, who 24 and under. Some 4,400 prescription drugs will be covered and the government estimates it will cost about $465 million a year. The co-pay for some seniors will also be reduced.
Free abortion pills
The province will cover Mifegymiso, the two-drug formula for medical abortion. Surgical abortion is already covered in the province, and the abortion pill will provide an alternative to women seeing to end an abortion up to seven weeks (though it is available up to 10 weeks in other countries). The pill, which only rolled out for Canadian use earlier this year, can cost as much as $400 a dose in some parts of Ontario, which advocates warned would dissuade some women from seeking the less invasive option. The drug will be prescribed by doctors and dispensed by pharmacists.
Transit tax credit for seniors
The province will create a transit tax credit for seniors who use public transit, which comes on the heels of the federal government cancelling a very similar credit for all citizens. It will provide a refundable benefit of up to 15 per cent of transit costs to a maximum of $130 a year as of July 1.
Smoke ‘em while you can afford ‘em
The price of smokes is going up again. As of 12:10 a.m. April 28, the price of a carton (200 cigarettes) will increase by $2. That means a pack of 25 cigarettes will go up 25 cents. Each cigarette now has 16.475 cents worth of taxes on it, and the province will increase that by two cents per smoke each year. That will increase the cost of a carton by $10 over the next three years.
A break for IVF drugs
In 2015, the province started funding one round of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and other fertility treatments but that OHIP coverage didn’t cover the costly drugs required to undergo the procedure. Since then, 7,200 people have received OHIP-funded fertility treatments, and from now on they’ll also be able to claim a medical expense tax credit for the costs of the associated fertility drugs.
Financial Post
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