BRAMPTON: Canadians are ringing-in the New Year with another tax reduction from the Federal Liberal Government, according to Ruby Sahota, Member of Parliament from Brampton North.
“This is another important step forward for the middle class and those working hard to join it—and for seniors’ financial security,” she said in a statement.
When the Federal Liberal Government’s increases to the Basic Personal Amount are fully implemented in 2023, 4.3 million seniors will benefit, including 465,000 whose federal income tax will be reduced to zero. Every year, singles will save close to $300 and couples will save nearly $600.
These savings will help seniors with everyday expenses, like groceries, hydro and deliveries. That work started in 2016, when the first act of our new government was to pass the Middle-Class Tax Cut to reduce personal income taxes.
This saved affected Canadians an average of $330 a year for singles and $540 a year for couples.
“Seniors depend on strong public pensions, and our government is committed to improving them. We reversed the previous Conservative government’s increase to the age of eligibility for Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), restoring it to 65 years from 67 years. That put thousands of dollars into the pockets of new seniors.
“To help low-income seniors, we increased the GIS by $947. And to help those low-income working seniors keep more of their benefits, we increased the GIS earnings exemption so they can earn up to $5,000 without any reduction in benefits and get a partial exemption for their next $10,000 in income.
“To help seniors with extra expenses of the pandemic, we made one-time payments to seniors in April through the GST Credit and July through OAS. Together, they are worth over $1500 for a low-income couple, all tax-free.
“Our policies are showing positive results: 25% fewer seniors live in poverty than when we took office in 2015. Old Age Security will also be increased by 10 percent once a senior turns 75.”