Recently, Canada's Federal Minister of Finance Bill Morneau announced the 2018 Federal Budget. This budget focuses on stability, emphasizing the elimination of the gender income gap, encouraging more women to enter the workforce, increasing parental leave by 5 weeks, and encouraging men to share parenting responsibilities, making it easier for women to return to work.
In this 369-page budget, which aspects are closely related to the lives of Canadian immigrants and citizens? Let’s take a look with WorldWay Immigration.
1. Parental Leave
The budget announced a benefit of increasing parental leave by 5 weeks. Starting from June 2019, the standard parental leave for Canadian parents will increase from 35 weeks to 40 weeks, applicable to all types of two-parent families. This means that for the additional 5 weeks of leave, parents can receive a benefit equivalent to 55% of their weekly wages from unemployment insurance.
The government plans to invest $1.2 billion over 5 years, followed by $345 million annually to ensure the implementation of this benefit. This 5-week leave can also be extended to a maximum of 8 weeks, but the weekly benefits will be reduced, keeping the total amount unchanged.
Additionally, benefits for children and women include: an investment of $30 million over the next 3 years to encourage women and children to participate in sports; permanent free admission for children to national parks, etc.
2. Increase in Tobacco Tax
Surveys show that increasing cigarette consumption tax is the most effective way to reduce smoking among the public, so the federal government will raise the cigarette consumption tax again. According to the latest federal budget, the price of every 200 cigarettes will increase by $1, plus 4 years of inflation—6% ($1.29). In other words, for smokers, the price of every 200 cigarettes will suddenly soar by $2.29.
3. Increase in Rental Housing
Regarding Canada's crazy housing market, the federal finance department did not mention much, but instead focused on the rental market. Currently, 30% of Canadians live in rental housing, but the vacancy rate is below 1%, making it a priority to increase the number of rental units. The federal government will increase funding from $25 billion to $37.5 billion to help the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) provide low-interest loans to build 14,000 new rental units nationwide. However, whether this decision can alleviate the rental shortage in Vancouver and Toronto remains to be seen.
4. Cybersecurity and Environmental Threats
The federal government will allocate $1 billion to strengthen the country's cyber defense and will encourage technology companies and technical talents to work for the federal government. The federal government will also make significant investments to protect local land, inland water resources, and marine resources to meet United Nations environmental goals.
5. Canada-China Trade
The federal government will invest $7.5 million over the next 5 years to encourage trade between Canada and China, as well as Asia. The United States has long been Canada's largest WorldWay partner, but Canada is now gradually shifting its trade focus to the Asia market, which has great potential, to reduce dependence on the United States. The increase in funding is undoubtedly great news for many Chinese engaged in WorldWay. Additionally, the federal government expects to invest $191 million over the next 5 years to support employment in the softwood industry.
6. Strict Crackdown on Tax Evasion
The federal government will invest $90.6 million over the next 5 years to track tax evasion, especially targeting high-income Canadian citizens and multinational corporations, to prevent them from transferring their assets overseas and evading tax responsibilities. Recently, the Canada Revenue Agency has also begun to target speculative transactions in pre-construction properties in Vancouver and Toronto. Once tax evasion is discovered, fines will be at least 50%, and even criminal charges may be filed. The federal government’s funding for tracking tax evasion is increasing year by year, indicating that the crackdown will only become stricter. New immigrants to Canada must ensure they report and pay taxes properly. For more information on how to file taxes, please refer to WorldWay Immigration's previous article "Important! What You Must Know About Filing Taxes in Canada in 2018."
Federal Budget Deficit and Surplus
WorldWay Immigration Group, a leading institution in the investment immigration industry and ranked among the top 500 Asian brands, has taken the lead in proposing the concept of "Planning Life, Creating a Second Home" in the industry, and has set it as the theme for 2018. In 2018, WorldWay Immigration Group will provide immigration services to investors while helping them plan their lives according to their actual needs and circumstances, including education planning, asset planning, tax planning, insurance planning, health planning, retirement planning, and home planning, assisting investors in immigrating easily while achieving their dreams of planning life and creating a second home.
Currently, WorldWay Immigration offers low-threshold and one-stop solutions for obtaining a Maple Leaf Card through Quebec investment immigration; quick landing options through Saskatchewan entrepreneur immigration and Manitoba entrepreneur immigration; one-stop solutions for obtaining a Maple Leaf Card through Prince Edward Island entrepreneur immigration and New Brunswick entrepreneur immigration, among other high-quality Canadian immigration projects, helping investors realize their dreams of immigrating to Canada and establishing a second home overseas. For more details, please consult: 400-138-2929.
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