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2004 Canadian federal budget

Budget for the Government of Canada

Field	Value
title	Budget of the Canadian Federal Government
New Agenda for Achievement
year	2004
country	Canada
previous_budget	2003 Canadian federal budget
previous_year	2003
next_budget	2005 Canadian federal budget
next_year	2005
image	Logo_of_the_2004_Canadian_federal_budget.jpg
imagesize	320
presented	23 March 2004
passed	Not Passed
parliament	37th
party	Liberal
minister	Ralph Goodale
Total_Revenue	C$211.9 billion
Total_Expenditures	C$210.5 billion
spending	C$176.4 billion
debt_payment	C$34.1 billion
surplus	C$1.5 billion‡
debt	C$494.7 billion
below	‡Surplus was used to pay down the federal debt.
url	Budget Plan 2004

New Agenda for Achievement

The Canadian federal budget of 2004 was a budget for the Government of Canada. It was read in the House of Commons of Canada on March 23, 2004, by Finance Minister Ralph Goodale of the governing Liberal Party. It was prepared by Goodale with significant input from Prime Minister Paul Martin, who had previously served as Minister of Finance in the government of Jean Chrétien.

The budget contained few surprises: most major initiatives had been announced long beforehand. These included $2 billion for health care, money for municipalities, and $1 billion to help livestock farmers harmed by the Mad Cow crisis. Government spending was set to increase at the same rate as Gross domestic product (GDP) over the next few years with any surplus going to pay down the national debt.

Taxes

Personal income taxes

The Education Tax Credit is extended to individuals pursuing post-secondary education that is related to their current employment (if not already reimbursed by the employer);p. 329
The budget allows caregivers to claim the Medical Expense Tax Credit on expenses made on the behalf of dependent relatives.p. 328
Enhancement of the Canada Education Savings Grant: matching contribution rate is enhanced for the first $500 of contributions made by low-income families;p. 369-371
Creation of the Canada Learning Bond, effective 1 January 2004 for children born on or after that date. The grant of up to $2,000 (over the child's lifetime) is available for families entitled to the National Child Benefit.p. 367

Corporate income taxes

Increase in the small business deduction limit: the small business deduction (SBD) limit is increased to $300,000 in 2005 and subsequent years instead of $275,000. The SBD limit was gradually increased in the 2003 Canadian federal budget and at the time was supposed to reach $300,000 in 2006;p. 329
Non-capital losses carry-forward extended to 10 years: the budget extends the loss carry-forward period from 7 to 10 years for non-capital losses.p. 331
Faster depreciation of computer equipment: for computer equipment acquired after 22 March 2004, the CCA rate is increased from 30% to 45%. The separate class election for computer is however terminated for equipment acquired on or after 1 January 2005;p. 334
Extension of the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit: the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit, a temporary tax credit created by the 2000 Canadian federal budget and set to expire on 31 December 2004 per the 2003 Canadian federal budget is extended through 31 December 2005.p. 336

Expenditures

Reactions

Opposition parties

The budget was criticized by the Conservative Party for its lack of tax cuts and its increases in spending. The New Democratic Party criticized the policy of debt reduction, arguing that social spending, especially on health care, would be more beneficial.

Legislative process

Before the budget could be passed, parliament was dissolved for the 2004 election. The budget legislation was appended to the 2005 budget that was passed the next year.

References

Department of Finance Canada. (March 19, 2007). "Aspire to a Stronger, Safer, Better Canada". Department of Finance Canada.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

canadian-budgets 2004-government-budgets 2004-in-canadian-politics 37th-canadian-parliament premiership-of-paul-martin march-2004-in-canada

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