Ontario Budget – 2012 Tax Highlights

March 27, 2012

INTRODUCTION

Today, Ontario Finance Minister, Dwight Duncan tabled the province's 2012 budget. This year's budget, entitled "Strong Action for Ontario," proposes a five-year plan to eliminate the province's deficit and balance the budget by 2017-18.

The McGuinty government presented an austere budget, marked by freezing planned tax reduction programs (for corporate income tax and business education tax), cutting business subsidies, capping clean energy benefit rebates, and proposing hardline measures against those participating in the underground economy (e.g., committing tax evasion), to name a few.

No new taxes or tax rate increases were introduced.

The deficit for 2011–12 is now projected to be $15.3 billion, which is a $1 billion improvement from the deficit forecast in the 2011 budget. For 2012–13, the deficit is projected to be $15.2 billion, consistent with the plan to balance the budget laid out in the 2011 budget. We have summarized