The 2010 Federal Budget: What it means to you

Posted: 1:00 AM CST Friday, Mar. 5, 2010

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This article was published 05/03/2010 (5776 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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Taxes

WHAT the government is doing: Standing pat. Income and sales taxes aren’t shrinking like they have in past budgets and there are no new goodies like the home renovation tax credit that’s now expired.

What it means to you: Not much. There will be some very minor indexing to inflation but the taxes you are about to pay when you file your return next month will be pretty much the same this coming year and beyond. Ottawa was clear it won’t raise taxes to erase the deficit.

Your money

WHAT the government is doing: Now that the banks are in better shape, Ottawa will introduce some small measures to protect consumers, including perhaps cracking down on credit card fees more than it has in the past.

What it means to you: When you deposit a cheque, you can get the first $100 within a day without waiting for the cheque to clear. Banks can only hold cheques for four days instead of seven, which helps people on low incomes. And, breaking a mortgage to get a better rate somewhere else will be easier and fairer when the government standardizes the way prepayment penalties are calculated.

Jobs

WHAT the government is doing: Focusing on innovation and green jobs with cash for research and clean energy.

What it means to you: Lots, if you’re part of the "knowledge economy." There’s new money for research granting councils and genome projects and money to commercialize research. And, there’s another $100 million for green energy projects like wind farms. How much of that, if any, will trickle down to Manitoba remains to be seen.

WHAT the government is doing: Some small, temporary tweaks to EI to make sure jobless people have a bigger cushion.

What it means to you: EI premiums will be frozen all year. You’ll get an extra five weeks of EI if you are on regular benefits. And, if you’ve decided to job-share to avoid layoffs, you can top up your reduced salary with EI for another 26 weeks. That allows job-sharing schemes to last for a total of about 18 months so employers can get back on their feet.