Q & A: Tax specialist explains what Quebec Budget 2023-2024 means for you
CTV News Montreal's Caroline Van Vlaardingen spoke to BDO Canada tax partner Ernie Furt about what Quebec's new budget means for taxpayers. You can watch the full interview above and read the full transcript below.
Caroline Van Vlaardingen: So, Ernie, the finance minister is calling it the most important tax cut in recent history of Quebec, or in the history of Quebec—4.6 million Quebecers will see tax cuts. Let's talk again about what it will represent for individuals and couples.
Ernie Furt: Well, let's take a look at different taxable income levels. If you're a single individual earning $40,000, it means $210 to you. If you're a couple earning $40,000, it means $56 to you. At the $100K level, if you're single, it means $814. And if you're a couple, it means $1,627. So, that's pretty good at the end of the day. And the good thing about it is, if you're a higher income earner, you're not clawed back this amount. So, this is a permanent cut. And as long as it remains there and people can earn what they earn, as Eric Girard said, they can benefit from this tax cut.
Quebec budget 2023 tax cuts
Caroline Van Vlaardingen: So often Quebecers say the more you earn, the more you pay. So, this is kind of nice that it does allow higher income earners, you know, those who earn more, to also benefit from a tax cut. There's something interesting about the QPP Quebec pension plan as well. Let's talk about that for a second. What's going on here?
Ernie Furt: Well, they are encouraging older workers to continue to work. So, currently, if you work and you're over the age of 65, and forever you are paying QPP on your earnings, on a salary or as a self-employed worker. However, starting in January 2024, if you reach the age of 72, you no longer have to pay any QPP on your earnings. That's a $4K amount that you're actually saving if you're earning about $63,100 a year or more. So that's an interesting cut. And if you're self-employed, you can double that. So, that's one thing that they're doing.
Another thing that they're doing is you now are going to be able to have the option to stop paying QPP at age 65, provided you're taking it. You currently do not have that option in Quebec. You do have that option in Canada, but you don't have that option in Quebec.
Now, the last QPP issue that they're doing is, currently, you can take your QPP and defer it up to age 70, where you're getting an increase of 0.5 per cent per month, i.e. a six per cent increase in your baseline QPP payments. So they're allowing you to defer this until age 72, and I didn't see it but it's probably there where this 0.5 per cent increase per month is still going to be there. So if you don't need the money, you don't have to take it, but you have to look at the time value of money and how old you're going to be when you're going to die, but nobody knows that.
Ernie Furt: Quebecers will always be inflamed with something. So, will it? It depends. You know what? Just go out there, do what you got to do, and work. I wish everybody has to pay more taxes next year, because that means you've earned more than the previous year.
LISTEN on CJAD 800 Radio: What are you getting from the Quebec budget?
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.