It is your money, you should know it and take it if you are eligible!
Below are merely highlights of the benefits for some Canadians in Budget 2023 that relatively CFCers may want to know.
Grocery Rebate:
Budget 2023 proposes to introduce a
one-time Grocery Rebate: eligible couples with two children with up to $467; single without children with up to $234; and seniors with $225 on average. No specific income eligibility was mentioned apart from saying that it is for 1 million low- and modest-income Canadians and families.
Seniors ( nothing new just statistics below):
As of January 2023, there were more than seven million OAS recipients, including close to 2.4 million GIS recipients. Seniors received a maximum of $687.56 through OAS, with $756.32 ( began 07/22) delivered to those 75 and over. A single senior in receipt of the GIS received a maximum of $1,026.96/y.
New Dental Care Plan:
The plan will provide dental coverage for uninsured Canadians with annual family income of less than $90,000, with no co-pays for those with family incomes under $70,000. The plan would begin providing coverage by the end of 2023 and will be administered by Health Canada, with support from a third-party benefits administrator.
Details on eligible coverage will be released later this year.
College Students:
Budget 2023 increases the amount of student grants to $4,200 (up from $3,000) for full-time students. In addition, more of your student loans will be interest-free. Those loans can amount to $300 per week of study (up from $210), which can mean about $10,000 of interest-free loans for a school year. Finally, you can now withdraw up to $8,000 from an RESP in the first 13 weeks of school (up from $5,000), and divorced or separated parents can now jointly open an RESP for their children.
RESP:
RESP withdrawals increase from $5,000 to $8,000 for full-time students, and from $2,500 to $4,000 for part-time students, and allow divorced or separated parents to open a joint RESP for their children
Tax:
1. For those who are high flyers ( >$3000,000/y) and using the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) system, the basic AMT exemption would increase more than fourfold, from $40,000 to $173,000 ( of course the bottom of the high flyers can use regular tax rate too). This will more precisely target the very wealthy.
2. Budget 2023 announces that the proposed 2% tax on share buybacks by public corporations in Canada would apply as of January 1, 2024. But a business would
not be subject to the tax in a year if its
gross repurchases of equity were less than $1 million.
3. Currently, the dividends that financial institutions receive on Canadian shares are not treated as business income and are effectively exempt from tax. Budget 2023 proposes to amend the Income Tax Act to
treat dividends received on Canadian shares held by financial institutions in the ordinary course of their business as business income. to pay tax(~$790 million/y).
New Tax-Free First Home Savings Account:
Promised in budget 2022, TFHSA will be delivered in 2023. Prospective first-time home buyers have the ability to save $40,000 on a tax-free basis. Like a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), contributions will be tax-deductible, and withdrawals to purchase a first home—including from investment income—will be non-taxable, like a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA). Tax-free in; tax-free out
Right-to-repair:
With new laws, it could be possible to have your phone fixed by a local repair shop at a much cheaper price in 2024 ignoring the manufacturer's repair right.
Junk fees (promised only and wait to come):
The budget promises a crackdown on fees like internet overage charges, roaming fees, event and concert fees, excess baggage fees, some shipping and freight charges, and the like. The new legislation will be introduced to deal with these.
Common Charging ports
For all handheld devices and laptops, the government will explore implementing a standard charging port in Canada by the end of 2024 (the EU has already had it)
Correct any errors or add more if any.