Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, announced on March 23 that the federal government will present Budget 2021 in the House of Commons on April 19 at around 4:00 p.m. ET.
This year’s budget has been highly anticipated, as the last one was tabled in the House of Commons by former Minister of Finance Bill Morneau on March 19, 2019 — pre-pandemic. In an interview with Canadian auto dealer, CADA Chief Economist Oumar Dicko said the association and automotive dealers across the country are pleased that the government will be releasing the federal budget two years after the previous one.
“This budget is a critical piece for the recovery from the current crisis, and to continue providing businesses that are struggling with the adequate resources and support to survive this crisis,” said Dicko. “At this point, we look forward to the budget and expect that the budget will continue to include additional support for the hardest hit businesses and some elements of the recovery as well.”
Dicko said they hope the budget will include a stimulus package for the auto industry.
In a video published on CBC, Freelance said Canada entered the pandemic “in a strong fiscal position” that allowed the government to offer unprecedented support to Canadians, while adding that it will continue to do whatever it takes to support Canadians and Canadian businesses.
“And we have a plan for jobs, and robust growth,” said Freeland.
Dicko is hoping that plan does not include new taxes that could impact businesses that are still heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the lead-up to the budget, he said CADA stressed to the federal government that now was not an ideal time to bring forward any new taxes.
“The focus should be on the recovery and support to businesses that struggled throughout this crisis, and continue to struggle,” said Dicko.
You may remember the government’s Throne Speech in the fall of 2020 floated the idea of finding ways to “tax extreme wealth inequality.” That idea has not been mentioned in a while, but the concept of a potential tax on luxury goods, such as high-end vehicles, could prove problematic for the auto industry. The idea was also proposed during the Liberal electoral platform, as noted by Dicko in a column published in Canadian auto dealer.
You can view the Pre-budget Submission in Advance of the 2021 Federal Budget by the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA) published in August 2020 here.
Canadian auto dealer will provide more information on Budget 2021 as it becomes available.
