The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) reacts to the 2008/2009 Ontario provincial budget, which was tabled today at Queen's Park by Finance Minister Dwight Duncan.
CTF Ontario Director, Kevin Gaudet, said, "Despite tax revenue having grown substantially from individuals and from businesses, the McGuinty government has continued its high-taxing and high-spending ways, leaving very little tax relief for tax-weary Ontarians aside from a handful of small boutique tax cuts. One positive element is that the government has announced it will not tax the new Tax Free Saving Accounts announced by the federal government in its budget".
A Mountain of Program Spending:
Provincial government spending on all programs has increased:
| Fiscal Year | Total Revenues ($ Billions) | Program Spending ($ Billions) | Annual Spending Growth |
| 2003-04 | 68.4 | 64.3 | n/a |
| 2004-05 | 77.8 | 70.0 | 8.9% |
| 2005-06 | 84.2 | 74.9 | 7.0% |
| 2006-07 | 90.4 | 79.3 | 5.9% |
| 2007-08 | 96.6 | 84.3 | 6.3% |
| 2008-09 | 96.9 | 87 | 3.2% |
In fiscal 08/09 there are $142 million of tax reductions versus $2.7 billion in new spending. That amounts to $19 of new spending for every dollar of tax relief offered.
On spending Gaudet said, "During these tough economic times the government should have tightened its belt and frozen spending instead of having increased it. Banks are forecasting Ontario GDP growth close to 0.5% and inflation of only 1.4% yet spending will go up at least 3.2%."
Queen's Park Personal and Business Income Tax Bite
| Fiscal Year | Personal Tax Revenues* ($ Billions) | % Change since 2003-04 | Business Tax Revenues($ Billions) | % Change since 2003-04 |
| 2003-04 | 18.3 | n/a | 6.7 | n/a |
| 2004-05 | 21.1 | 15% | 9.9 | 48% |
| 2005-06 | 23.4 | 28% | 10.0 | 49% |
| 2006-07 | 26.2 | 43% | 10.8 | 61% |
| 2007-08 | 27.3 | 49% | 12.7 | 90% |
| 2008-09 | 28 | 53% | 12.3 | 84% |
* Includes the Health Tax
Gaudet said, "the government spent over $4.9 billion more than it had planned because tax revenues have continued to climb substantially and beyond expectations. This over-spending has robbed taxpayers of the possibility of tax relief".
Debt Service Charges at 9.3% of revenue:
| Fiscal Year | Total Debt($ Billions) | Debt Service Charge($ Billions) |
| 2003-04 | -148.7 | 9.604 |
| 2004-05 | -156.8 | 9.368 |
| 2005-06 | -155.3 | 9.019 |
| 2006-07 | -157.3 | 8.831 |
| 2007-08 | -162.3 | 9.067 |
| 2008-09 | -167.7 | 8.966 |
Ontario's total debt is projected to be $167.7 billion by March 2009. To sevice the debt the province spends over $1 million per hour.
Gaudet concluded, "the government failed today to provide in Ontario a good climate for businesses and taxpayers."
