Didn’t we already have a budget? Oh yes, the Budget to Nowhere which effectively triggered the election, which brought the Conservatives a Majority, guess the Liberals wished they voted FOR that one, but hindsight is 20/20.
Now we have a new/old Budget for 2011, which brings us much of what was before, some new things, and some other stuff, all very exciting (OK, the stories Larry MacDonald may have from the Budget Lock Up might be more exciting, but that is for Larry to write about).
So what is so new and exciting?
- $2.2 Billion to Quebec for them harmonizing their sales tax with the GST, creating an HST.
- A phase out of quarterly allowances to political parties.
- The Budget deficit is $4.5 Billion lower than forecast in March
That’s it, pretty much everything from the old budget is coming back, too! The forecast is that the Government will be in a surplus state by 2015-16, which is encouraging, but then again, that assumes economic growth and no more Economic Tsunamis, wiping out portions of the economy.
I do like some of the interesting side note programs:
- Ban on unsolicited credit card cheques, I like this, I have to keep shredding these ticking time bombs to make sure they don’t get used fraudulently.
- Renewal of Own the Podium program, good I like watching the Olympics and seeing our athletes excel.
- Two-year extension of accelerated capital cost allowance for machinery and equipment, means I can write off another computer on this blog (I think) so good on  you Mr. Harper!
- Helmets to Hardhats program to help veterans get work in construction industry, I like this one too, good idea to get our veterans jobs (although I think we need to get more than just the veterans jobs).
If you want the rest of the gory details, read my original post (linked to at the start of this article), a very ho hum, not much new Budget, why did they lock poor Larry up for 6 hours because of this?!? Note the picture is simply the same one from March, I figured if the Government can’t be bothered to put anything new in there, neither will I!
Let’s hope that there are no more Economic Tsunamis, wiping out portions of the economy and that the Government forecast is correct for 2015-16.
And the Helmets to Hardhats program sounds wonderful to provide our veterans jobs.
I really like your idea about helmets to hard hats. I think this is awesome. It is so important to help those who have come back from the war get back on their feet.
Wow, you Canadians are lucky to not have credit offers coming straight to your mailbox. We Americans haven’t quite gotten there yet.
The accelerated capital cost allowance (also known as “accelerated depreciation” in the U.S.) literally probably saved my family’s business, so I’m a huge supporter of this measure.