Issue link: https://canadawidemedia.uberflip.com/i/812937
Dominion LenDing CentreS OUR HOUSE Spring 2017 >> 39 rather than deficit elimination. this will no doubt be criticized by conservatives. Tax measures Basically, there aren't any major tax measures. Specifically, there is no change in the tax treatment of capital gains, a red-hot issue in the media for the past few weeks. the finance ministry is cracking down on the use of private corporations to sprinkle income among family members to reduce taxes. these private corporations are subject to lower tax rates than personal income tax rates. Similarly, passive investment portfolios held inside private corporations will be audited. Clearly, the Canada revenue Agency will be scrutinizing these private corporations in the future to assure tax fairness for the middle class. eliminating tax loopholes, evasion (both domestically and internationally) and avoidance is expected to increase revenues by $2.5 billion over five years. there will also be a renovation to the current caregiver credit system and extension of the eligibility for the tuition tax credit. measures will also be taken to strengthen the financial services sector, although these are technical and supervisory and do not affect mortgage lending specifically as some in the industry had feared. The bottom line Budget 2017 does no harm. the Canadian economy has improved considerably since last year's budget. While oil prices, the Canadian dollar and U.S. interest rates are uncertain, it appears that the economy could grow at roughly a 2.3 per cent annual rate with the jobless rate in Canada remaining below seven per cent. the resilience of the Canadian economy has been supported by government actions in the 2016 budget as well as accommodative monetary policy. While i would like to see a plan to return to a balanced budget, Canada will have no trouble in funding its debt or maintaining its triple-A credit rating. FEDS INvEST IN HOuSINg $11.2 billion as part of a new national Housing Strategy Federal lands to be made available for the development of affordable housing A new national Housing Fund (nHF) administered through CHmC to support sustainable housing $39.9 million to Statistics Canada to create the Housing Statistics Framework (HSF), a new national housing database