Freeland previews omnibus budget bill, proposed capital gains tax change left out
CTV
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation is the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation is the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
On Tuesday, the senior Liberal cabinet minister offered an early preview of what the budget bill will contain, when she tabled notice of what's known as a "ways and means motion" in the House of Commons.
This motion, spanning 663 pages, outlines all of the tax and legislative measures that the government plans to include in the bill – titled the "Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1"— coming to the Commons soon, if MPs allow.
Absent from this package is Freeland's plan to rake in $19.3 billion over the next five years by increasing the inclusion rate on capital gains from 50 per cent to 67 per cent for individuals earning more than $250,000 in capital gains in a year, and for all corporations and trusts.
According to a federal official speaking on background, the government's intention is to advance the capital gains change through a separate piece of legislation that would move through Parliament on its own timeline. Of note, the budget had vowed that this tax change would apply to capital gains realized on or after June 25, 2024.
Freeland is speaking more about the incoming bill and the next phase of the government's economic plan at a press conference on Parliament Hill. She's likely to be asked how and when the Liberals intend to advance what's become one of the more contentious components of her latest budget.
From tax code and housing policy changes, to criminal and health law amendments, the legislation runs the gamut of reforms and while most is tied to the federal budget, the Liberals are also incorporating some outstanding promised reforms left out of their last major piece of economic legislation.
