2018-2019 federal budget highlights

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Feb 27, 2018

On February 27, 2018, the Minister of Finance, Bill Morneau, presented the 2018-2019 federal budget in the House of Commons. Key themes include growing the economy, gender equality and innovation. While the budget did not respond with any specific measures, the government acknowledged the significance of recent US tax reform and current negotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Some of the key features of the budget plan were:

  • Following the proposals announced last year, the budget has introduced legislation to address the earning of passive income inside a private corporation.
  • From a gender equality perspective, the budget announces the introduction of a new “use it or lose it” Employment Insurance parental sharing benefit which will enable two-parent families that share parental leave to receive an additional five weeks of leave.
  • The government is introducing significant new investments to better support Canadian innovators.
  • The government continues to introduce measures to close loopholes that result in unfair tax advantages for some at the expense of others.
  • Of note, the budget does not include further measures to address recommendations from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s base erosion and profit shifting project, particularly with respect to interest deductibility and anti-hybrid measures.

A summary of the economic and tax highlights contained in the budget is outlined in our Canadian tax alert.

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