It is a budget full bravado but in the end, most Manitobans will pay more for less.

On Monday, March 12, 2018, Finance Minister Cameron Friesen tabled the 2018 provincial budget in the legislature.

The personal income tax basic exemption will be raised by  $2,020 in total over the next two years which will knock 30,000 Manitobans off the tax roll the minister said

The small business income tax threshold will be raised $50,ooo to $500,000. This will amount to a savings of up to $6,000 for individual businesses.

CARBON TAX

The Carbon Tax that will come into place on September 1, 2018, will increase what you pay at the pumps ( 5.32 cents per litre), the natural gas ( 4.74 cents per cubic metre) for heating your home and the propane (3.87 cents) you use in your BBQ. It is estimated that the average cost to a family for the carbon tax will be $240 per year.

What wasn’t estimated was the additional costs you will have to pay for groceries and consumer goods as retailers offset their increased costs associated with the Carbon tax.

According to the finance minister, the province is expecting $250 million per year in carbon tax revenue.

Although the province says all the money brought into Manitoba will be returned to Manitobans through tax reductions it is unlikely to offset the increased costs associated with the tax for most families.

HEALTH CARE

Ambulance fees will be reduced again this year by $85. This will reduce what you pay to $340. The province has promised to continue reductions until the fee reaches $250 per trip

60 full-time paramedics will be hired throughout the province but overall health spending will increase less than 1%

$14 million for the Home Cancer Drug program

$7.7 million for expanded dialysis treatment

$3.1 million for rare disease drugs

Addiction Foundation of Manitoba will lose $2.7 million in funding for the delivery of programs

EDUCATION

The budget increases education funding by half of a percent but it is a defacto cut when you factor in the rate of inflation.

Public Schools Finance Board approach will be used in the construction five new schools. New facilities will be built in Seven Oaks (kindergarten to Grade 5); Waterford Green (kindergarten to Grade 8); Southeast Brandon (kindergarten to Grade 8); Pembina Trails Waverley West (kindergarten to Grade 8), and Pembina Trails Waverley West (grades 9 to  12).

Post-secondary education will see a 1% reduction in funding.

The $250 deductible in the education property tax credit will be eliminated.

Credit Unions in the province were given a major blow as their special tax rate was put on the chopping block and is being phased out beginning in 2019. It is expected that it will cost Credit Unions $15 million per year beginning in 2020. Those increased costs will more than likely be passed on to members.

While delivering the budget the minister said that the province has not calculated in and funding from the sale of cannabis because they do not know what the associated costs will be related to the legalization of the drug.

LINK | Manitoba 2018 Budget

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