On Thursday, November 3, 2022, Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, presented the Fall Economic Statement 2022.
The government projects the 2022-23 deficit to be $36.4 billion, considerably lower than its original estimate of $52.8 billion.
The government reiterated previous announcements such as:
- The doubling of the GST Credit for six months;
- Creating the Canada Dental Benefit to cover dental expenses for children under 12 years of age for families earning less than $90,000 a year; and
- Topping up the Canada Housing Benefit.
In today’s Fall Economic Statement, the government announced these initiatives:
- Extend the Residential Property Flipping Rule starting January 1, 2023, to apply to assignment sales. Profits realized from an assignment sale will be treated as business income if the rights to purchase the property are assigned within the first 12 months. The same life event exceptions that currently apply for physical property sales (i.e. death, marital breakdown, family expansion, insolvency, disability, etc.) would also apply for assignment sales.
Introduce a new refundable Clean Technology Investment Credit. The credit will equal 30 per cent of the cost of eligible equipment that becomes available for use on or after the day that the 2023 Federal Budget is released. Equipment that would qualify for this credit would include equipment used to generate electricity from solar, wind and water energy, non-fossil fuel stationary electricity storage equipment, active solar heating equipment, air-source heat pumps, and ground-source heat pumps. The credit would gradually be phased out starting in 2032.
- Introduce a new 2 per cent corporate tax for public companies which buy back their own shares starting January 1, 2024. More details will be forthcoming in Budget 2023.
- Invest $15 billion to create the Canada Growth Fund, an initiative that will attract private capital to projects that meet the following goals:
- Reduce emissions and achieve Canada’s climate targets;
- Accelerate the deployment of key technologies, such as low-carbon hydrogen and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS);
- Scale up companies that will create jobs, drive productivity and clean growth, and encourage the retention of intellectual property in Canada; and
- Capitalize on Canada’s abundance of natural resources and strengthen critical supply chains to secure Canada’s future economic and environmental well-being.
- Make the Canada Working Benefit an automatic quarterly payment, rather than an annual payment starting in July 2023.
- Eliminate interest on Canada Student Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans commencing April 1, 2023.
- Negotiate with credit card companies to reduce transaction fees for small businesses and ensure that existing reward points for consumers are not adversely affected.
To know how these initiatives will affect your personal and business affairs, schedule a consultation with a Crowe Soberman advisor.
This article has been prepared for the general information of our clients. Please note that this publication should not be considered a substitute for personalized advice related to your situation.
