The looming threat of planned yet unannounced tax cuts urges us to finally institute changes to our tax system to fund the services we rely on, says CUPE Ontario.
“Years of underfunding to vital public services, clearly exposed in the last two years, caused people to endure so much pain and suffering,” said Fred Hahn, President of CUPE Ontario. “If we want to finally put such unnecessary hardships in the past, we’ll need to make historic investments in the services we rely on - and that takes resources.”
The Financial Accountability Office (FAO) of Ontario released its Long-Term Budget Outlook which provides a projection of the province’s economy and fiscal position through 2050-51. The report revealed unannounced tax cuts of approximately $2.5 billion by 2023-24, worsening an already challenging long term budget outlook. This is in addition to the 52 existing corporate deductions, exemptions, and credits that cost the provincial government $6.1 billion according to a previous FAO report.
CUPE Ontario, however, notes a silver lining in the report. According to the FAO, every 1 per cent increase in the corporate tax rate would substantially help our net debt-to-GDP ratio by bringing in $1.2 billion.
“We need to let it sink in that spending saves lives and secures futures,” said Hahn. “We can only make Ontario a better place to live and work by making sure that the wealthiest among us pay their fair share.”
