The official figure for the year that ended March 31 is a slight improvement over the governments estimated deficit figure of $14.9-billion, which was provided in Finance Minister Bill Morneaus March budget.<\/p>\n
Adrian Wyld\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n
The Finance Department closed the books on the 2018-19 fiscal year Tuesday, reporting that the federal government ran a $14-billion deficit.<\/p>\n
The official figure for the year that ended March 31 is a slight improvement over the governments estimated deficit figure of $14.9-billion, which was provided in Finance Minister Bill Morneaus March budget.<\/p>\n
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau campaigned in 2015 on a plan to run short-term deficits and to balance the books by 2019, but the March budget had previously confirmed that this target will not be met.<\/p>\n
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While Mr. Trudeau mentioned 2019 as his target for erasing the deficit, the 2015 Liberal platform specified that a return to surplus would not occur until the 2019-2020 fiscal year, which began April 1.<\/p>\n
That is no longer the Liberal plan. Mr. Morneaus March budget estimated that the size of the deficit would be larger this fiscal year and next $19.8-billion and $19.7-billion before declining to $9.8-billion in 2023-2024.<\/p>\n
Since then, Mr. Trudeau has made new spending promises on the campaign trail. The Liberal Party has not yet released a fully-costed platform with a revised projection for the federal bottom line to accommodate those promises.<\/p>\n
The Parliamentary Budget Officer released a report in June with its latest estimate for the state of Ottawas bottom line. The PBO said the size of the deficit will peak at $23.3-billion in 2020-21 before declining gradually to nearly zero or $200-million by 2028-29.<\/p>\n
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is promising to erase the deficit within five years. On the campaign trail, he has announced a package of tax cuts that will ultimately reduce federal tax revenues by over $8-billion a year.<\/p>\n
Mr. Scheer said this week that his partys platform will show how a Conservative government can cut taxes and balance the books.<\/p>\n
Tuesdays Finance Department report also shows that tax revenue as a share of GDP reached 15 per cent for the first time in a decade, up from 14.5 per cent in 2017-18, the previous fiscal year. Federal tax revenues as a share of GDP exceeded 15 per cent for four consecutive decades until 2008-09. After Stephen Harpers Conservative government reduced the GST from 7 per cent to 5 per cent, tax revenues dropped below 15 per cent for the next decade.<\/p>\n
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Government spending also rose, from 14.4 per cent of GDP in 2017-18 to 14.6 per cent in 2018-19.<\/p>\n
The report says personal income tax revenues increased by $10.3-billion in 2018-19, or 6.7 per cent, driven by high employment and a strong labour market. <\/p>\n
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Liberal government ends 2018-19 fiscal year with $14-billion deficit - The Globe and Mail<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The official figure for the year that ended March 31 is a slight improvement over the governments estimated deficit figure of $14.9-billion, which was provided in Finance Minister Bill Morneaus March budget. Adrian Wyld\/The Canadian Press The Finance Department closed the books on the 2018-19 fiscal year Tuesday, reporting that the federal government ran a $14-billion deficit. The official figure for the year that ended March 31 is a slight improvement over the governments estimated deficit figure of $14.9-billion, which was provided in Finance Minister Bill Morneaus March budget. Continue reading