NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ont. — Premier Kathleen Wynne says her government will not balance the budget in 2017-18 by raising taxes on middle-class families.
Speaking today in Niagara-on-the-Lake, the premier was reacting to a report this week by the Financial Accountability Office that says Ontario is not on track to balance by next year and would have to raise taxes or make cuts to get there.
The budget watchdog projects that Ontario will have a deficit of $2.6 billion in 2017-18.
READ MORE: Ontario won’t be able to eliminate deficit in 2017, watchdog says
But Wynne says the deficit will be eliminated by then, and that the path will be laid out in Ontario’s fall economic statement, which is expected to be released soon.
She says the government won’t do anything to harm middle-class families in order to balance the books.
The premier says it hasn’t been easy working toward balance, but it is important so that Ontario can reduce its net debt – which the FAO says will be $370 billion in 2020-21 – and its net-debt-to-GDP ratio, which is hovering around 40 per cent.
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