Watching Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s “let’s sit tight and wait” budget yesterday, it was obvious that the bombast from president Donald Trump has definitely had an influence on this budget.
Trump’s threats about imposing a border adjustment tax on goods made in Canada, and serious concessions in the upcoming NAFTA talks, have forced our government to abandon some much-needed revenue sources, such as, well, maybe tweaking the capital gains tax and eliminating some tax loopholes for wealthier Canadians.
Instead, we’ve seen the elimination of some tax breaks for middle class taxpayers and the delay of some promised tax relief and incentive programs.
Now, the good news is the economy is showing signs of growth, which is probably why the government decided to hold off on major incentive programs and tax relief.
That’s cold comfort to those disadvantaged Canadians looking for help.
But the real takeaway here is the Canadian economy is bracing for a major storm of Trump’s “America first” policies, and the major budget adjustments are going to have to wait until we see what Trump does next.
I’m Bill Kelly.