Ontario Plan Cuts Budget Deficit To $18.7 Billion
Toronto, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan announced Tuesday that the province’s budget deficit for 2010-11 is projected to go down to $18.7 billion from the $24.7 billion forecast in fall.
The minister said the 25 percent cut in Ontario’s budget deficit is the result of better corporate tax collection and reduced spending. The opposition disputes Duncan’s attribution of the higher corporate tax collection and instead points to the implementation of the 13 percent harmonized sales tax in July as the reason behind the boost in the province’s coffers.
But Duncan said higher HST collections were offset by cuts in personal and corporate taxes.
In the previous budget year, Ontario also reduced its deficit forecast from $24.7 billion to $21.3 billion. Ontario’s annual budget took into account a five-year plan to create new jobs and spur economic growth in the province, while reducing the deficit caused by the global financial crisis.
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