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What the 2022 federal budget means for Oakville

MP Anita Anand shares highlights
Budget
Budget

A day after the federal government tabled a $452.3 billion budget outlining its vision for the coming year, we connected with MP Anita Anand to hear her thoughts on key initiatives that will impact Oakville families. She highlighted action the government will be taking to tackle housing, environmental and small business issues.

Housing: new tax-free in, tax-free out savings account

“On housing, our main push is to make sure that Canadians are able to save for the purchase of their first home,” said Anand.

A new Tax-Free First Home Savings account will help first-time home buyers save for a down payment next year.

Soaring home prices – which reached an average of $2.2 million for a detached home in Oakville in February – have driven up the amount purchasers need to save to enter the market.

Hopeful buyers will be able to deposit up to $8,000 a year in tax-deductible contributions, similar to RRSP accounts. Money in the accounts, including investment growth, will not be taxed if withdrawn to purchase a new home.

There will be a $40,000 lifetime cap on contributions.

Anand noted that the budget will also double the first-time homebuyers' tax credit amount to $10,000, providing homebuyers with up to $1,500 in tax relief.

“When I was on the campaign trail in August, I heard directly from Oakvillians that housing affordability – especially for their children – was a big issue. This initiative and this part of our budget directly address those concerns, which are not unique to Oakville, but which definitely affect people in Oakville.”

The government is also planning to put a two-year ban on the sale of non-recreational residential property to foreign commercial enterprises and people who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

“That is to ensure that residential property remains residential,” said Anand.

Anita Anand | Anita Anand in Ottawa in October 2021 | Alex Tétreault
Anita Anand | Anita Anand in Ottawa in October 2021 | Alex Tétreault
Environment: $5,000 zero-emission vehicle incentive renewed

The federal government’s incentive program offering rebates of up to $5,000 toward purchasing zero-emission vehicles has been renewed until March 2025.

“This will make it more affordable for Canadians to purchase these zero-emission vehicles,” said Anand. “We're aiming to have all vehicle sales to be zero-emission vehicle by 2035 and at least 60 per cent by 2030.”

The budget commits $3 billion toward vehicle incentives and constructing a national network of charging stations.

Anand said the budget will also provide nearly $20 million to sustain a freshwater action plan supporting clean-up efforts in the Great Lakes and across the country.

“For Oakville, it means that there will be funding to support clean-up efforts in Lake Ontario, and that is incredibly important,” said Anand.

The budget will also provide $55 million over five years to support the Trans Canada trail network. Part of that trail runs through Oakville.

Small business tax break

“We’re addressing the barriers that are preventing small businesses from growing,” said Anand. “This includes reducing payment card fees for merchants, but it also addresses directly the tax burden that small businesses face.”

The small business tax rate will now be phased out at $50 million in taxable capital, up from the current $15 million. The change will let more medium-sized businesses benefit from a reduced tax rate, boosting economic growth and creating more jobs, said Anand.

"This is incredibly important for Oakville given the number of small businesses that we have in our community," she said.

Other budget promises
  • Launch a new Housing Accelerator Fund to target the creation of 100,000 net new housing units in the next five years.
  • Create a Canada Growth Fund to help attract private capital toward building a net-zero economy by 2050.
  • Spend $5.3 billion over five years to provide dental care for Canadians with family incomes of less than $90,000 annually, starting with under 12-years-olds in 2022, expanding to under 18-years-olds, seniors, and persons living with a disability in 2023, and with full implementation by 2025. The program is to be restricted to families with an income of less than $90,000 annually, with no co-pays for those under $70,000 annually in income.
  • Provide $8 billion in new funding to better equip the Canadian Armed Forces, strengthen Canada’s contributions to our core alliances like NATO and NORAD, and reinforce Canada’s cyber security.
  • Provide an additional $500 million in military aid for Ukraine, along with up to $1 billion in new loan resources to the Ukrainian government
  • Increase the corporate income tax rate for banks and life insurance groups on taxable income over $100 million, plus impose a one-time tax on 2021 income over $1 billion.

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