Budget 06 - my thoughts

Just a quick set of thoughts on the Conservative's first budget.

For me, the one thing I need from my government is tax relief. So right off the bat...

The new Canada Employment Credit a tax credit on
employment income of up to $500, effective July 1, 2006, to
help working Canadians. The eligible amount will double to
$1,000 as of January 1, 2007.

That equals about an extra $100, IN MY POCKET, right off the bat.

Increases in the basic personal amount the amount that all
Canadians can earn without paying federal income tax above
its currently legislated level for 2005, 2006 and 2007.

That means more money IN MY POCKET, though this one is harder to quantify.

This, I like, since if I have kids, my wife will be staying at home...

CHILDCARE
$3.7 billion over two years for the Universal Child Care Benefit
(UCCB), which will provide all families with $100 per month
for each child under age 6. The UCCB will not affect federal
income-tested benefits and will be provided as of July 1, 2006.

That means $1800 in my buddy's pocket this year, as his wife is a stay-at-home-mom... and $3600 next year! (yes, it's TAXABLE INCOME... so knock about 20% off those totals)

I like this too, I haven't heard anyone mention it yet...

Assistance for persons with disabilities will be enhanced by:

– Increasing the maximum annual Child Disability Benefit
(CDB) to $2,300 from $2,044, effective July 2006.

– Extending eligibility for the CDB to middle- and higherincome
families caring for a child who is eligible for the
disability tax credit, effective July 2006.

– Boosting the maximum amount of the refundable medical
expense supplement to $1,000 from $767, effective 2006.

For seniors...

Increasing to $2,000 the maximum amount eligible for the
pension income credit, effective 2006. This will benefit nearly
2.7 million taxpayers with pension income and will remove
approximately 85,000 pensioners from the tax rolls.

Seniors make up a good chunk of the poor in our nation... so taking 85,000 of them off the tax rolls is a step in the right direction.

Many on the left, that I've heard, are saying that we need more social programs to help the poor. Yes, we certainly do, but ensuring that they don't have to pay taxes on their monthly income is a good idea, don't you think?

And for these measures, it's about time...

Cracking Down on Crime
- $161 million for 1,000 more RCMP officers and federal
prosecutors to focus on such law-enforcement priorities as drugs,
corruption and border security (including gun smuggling).
- $37 million for the RCMP to expand its National Training
Academy (Depot) to accommodate these new officers and build
the capacity to train more officers in the future.
- Set aside funds to expand Canada’s correctional facilities to
house the expected increase in inmates as a result of changes
in sentencing rules.
- $20 million for communities to prevent youth crime with a focus
on guns, gangs and drugs.
- $26 million to give victims a more effective voice in the federal
corrections and justice system, and to give victims greater access
to services (such as travel to appear at parole hearings).

We need the money for programs to prevent youth from turning to crime, so this is a good move... but I want the thugs who have already turned to crime OFF OUR STREETS. So the funding for more prisons is also welcome.

Also...

A tax credit for the purchase of monthly public transit passes,
effective July 1, 2006.

Won't affect me, but might just be enough to get the fence sitters to "Ride the Rocket", as we say in T.O.

As for Kyoto... zip. Nilch. Nada. AS IT SHOULD BE. Have you even read the Kyoto Protocol? To silence the nay-sayers, I HAVE. Got a copy of it on my PDA, just so I can refer its supporters to the offending passages. It's a MASSIVE black-hole money pit... and WON'T address our international needs. And, thanks to the inaction of the previous Liberal government, (I love saying that... "previous") we've ALREADY missed several of the deadlines. THERE IS NO WAY THAT WE CAN MEET OUR COMMITMENTS, and it has NOTHING to do with the Conservatives. If you want to lay any kind of blame for Canada not sticking with Kyoto, TALK TO YOUR LOCAL LIBERAL MP.

And they have to gall to claim that they alone "are the defenders of the enviornment"??? I'm 100% in favour of reducing our emissions... but let's do it in a reasonable way, eh guys? Let's fund alternative fuels, get the prices on hybrid cars down, and start sticking it to major polluters, instead of jumping on the bandwagon of an "agreement" that will cost us BILLIONS will little or no return.