If farmers get a sense of deja vu from Tuesday’s federal budget, they won’t have to think back very far.
The $72 million in new farm program spending cited in Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s budget goes to cover Monday’s announcement of proposed legislative changes to the federal advance payments program ($22.1 million in 2008-09) and a cull program for breeding swine ($50 million).
Indirect benefits and new spending in Flaherty’s budget will still register with many farmers, farm families and agribusinesses including:
- the creation of tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs), to which Canadians can contribute $5,000 annually and carry forward unused room to future years, with no lifetime limit and no tax on investment income earned, including capital gains;
- $113 million over two years for the government’s previously announced Food and Consumer Safety Action Plan (to be funded in part by budget savings from a “transforming” of operations at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, “so that it can pursue smarter ways of managing risks to human and animal health”);
- $33 million over two years for “a new approach to regulation” of natural health products;
- GST/HST relief on land leases for wind farms or solar equipment to generate electricity;
- $10 million over two years for scientific research and analysis on biofuels emissions;
- extension of accelerated capital cost allowance (CCA) treatment for investment in machinery and equipment for three years (a move that disappointed Canadian chemical producers, who in a statement Tuesday said they’d hoped for five years); and
- a pledge to consult with “key stakeholders,” such as the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses, on a proposal to scale back the requirements for people who use personal vehicles for business trips to keep year-round mileage logs for motor vehicle expense claims. The proposal would instead allow eligible drivers to keep a logbook just for a “sample” period of time each year, representative of how the vehicle is used for business purposes.
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Flaherty in Tuesday’s budget posted a 2007-08 planning surplus of $12.9 billion, which he said was “somewhat stronger” than projected during his economic statement in October. The higher surplus, he said, reflects “higher-than-expected revenues and lower-than-expected public debt charges.”
The federal Liberals on Tuesday said Flaherty’s budget “repackaged many Liberal initiatives and commitments” such as improved cashflow for livestock producers and direct payments for hog farmers, “as we recommended.”
Regardless, the party said in a statement “there is nothing in this budget that warrants an election that Canadians don’t want, particularly at a time when so much remains to be done in this Parliament.”
