The Minister of Finance, Bill Morneau, announced that the
government’s federal budget will be tabled on March 22, 2017.
Last year’s Canadian federal budget came in with a whopping
$29.4-billion deficit and notable tax changes
in the area of the small business deduction eligibility, among
others. There were a number of items promised by the Liberal
government during its campaign that were not announced in last
year’s budget. Will the Liberal government hold true on
those promises in the 2017 budget? How will those potential tax
changes impact business owners and individuals? Some areas to watch
are outlined below.
Capital gains crunch
There is speculation that there could be an increase in the
taxation of capital gains. Current tax rules provide that only 50
per cent of a capital gain is included in a taxpayer’s
income. This is a change we were surprised was not in last
year’s budget, so keep an eye on a potential increase to the
capital gains inclusion rate in
