Event: Regina Spring Home Show
Venue: Canada Centre Building – EVRAZ Place
Date: March 27, 2015
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It’s a pleasure to be here to mark the 39th anniversary of the Regina Spring Home Show.
I love the tagline: “You've had it with winter. Good thing spring is here!” Certainly this show has come to signal the start of the season for the thousands of attendees who flock to these exhibits each year.
Whether you are here today dreaming of buying your first home or renovating your current home, our Government wants to help.
The costs associated with purchasing a home—such as legal fees, disbursements, and land transfer taxes—can be a burden for first-time homebuyers who are also saving for a down payment.
That’s why we introduced the First-Time Home Buyers' Tax Credit in 2009 — a $5,000 non-refundable income tax credit amount on a qualifying home.
And the Home Buyers’ Plan allows you to withdraw up to $25,000 tax-free from your registered retirement savings plan to buy or build a home for yourself, or for a family member with a disability.
The Canada Revenue Agency helps you keep track of your repayment progress by sending a Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) Statement of Account each year with your notice of assessment.
It shows the total HBP withdrawals, the amounts you have repaid to date, your HBP balance, and the amount you have to contribute as a repayment for the following year.
These measures ensure that you can spend less time worrying about your new home, and more time living in it.
That’s just one of the ways our Government makes it easier for you to benefit from the credits and programs designed to support hardworking Canadians.
Our Government is committed to broadening our tax base by rooting out non-compliance, while lowering taxes for hard-working Canadians.
We are making it tougher for those who would abuse the tax system. For example, together with the Canadian Home Builders’ Association, we are raising public awareness about the risks of participating in the underground economy – either receiving payment or paying for services and products “under the table.”
Underground economy activities are found in many industries, but it’s a serious problem in the construction industry.
Did you know that without a receipt from a legitimate contractor, as a consumer you have no recourse if that contractor does a bad job or cuts corners while working in your home or business?
Saving a few dollars to pay a contractor working under the table may well end up costing consumers more in the long run if something goes wrong. I’ll bet you or someone you know has a horror story about what can happen to people who have taken this personal and financial risk.
Using contractors who refuse to issue a receipt also undermines the competitiveness of honest businesses—like the ones exhibiting their products and services here today.
As a consumer, we must ask … if this contractor is willing to cut short his or her legal tax obligations, what shortcuts will they take in my home?
That’s why we have teamed with the Canadian Home Builders Association to provide $745,000 for the Get it in Writing Campaign.
Do right by yourselves and by your neighbouring businesses – get it in writing before you build or renovate! The receipt gives you recourse should there be problems with the job, and gives the CRA proof of revenue that must be reported by the contractor as well as any GST/HST charged.
Speaking of saving your receipts, I’d be remiss if I didn’t remind you that Home & Garden Show season is also tax filing season!
I want to make sure you know about the savings and benefits available to you. I’d like to highlight just four key elements of the Family Tax Credit and Benefit package introduced by Prime Minister Harper in October.
First, the Family Tax Cut provides tax relief up to $2,000 for couples with children under 18 years of age, by allowing an individual to essentially transfer up to $50,000 of income to a spouse in a lower tax bracket to take advantage of that lower tax rate.
Second, we are expanding the Universal Child Care Benefit to $160 per month (up from $100) for children under the age of 6 – and providing a new $60 a month benefit for each child between the ages of 6 and 17.
Third, we have doubled the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit for 2014, meaning you can now claim up to $1,000 per child in eligible expenses for a wide range of supervised fitness activities.
And, fourth, we have also increased the Child Care Expenses Deduction dollar limits by $1,000, starting in the 2015 tax year.
Every Canadian family with children will benefit from this package. On average, it will return $1,140 to the pockets of families with children.
Before you file, I encourage you to check out the CRA website for more information about these and other credits and benefits available to you. And remember – by filing online and using direct deposit, you can receive your refund in as little as eight days.
Ladies, and gentleman, our Government is committed to supporting small businesses because that in turn supports our communities, our families.
For every job created, there is a Canadian family better able to make ends meet, to achieve financial security, to plan for a future of prosperity and opportunity.
Our Government is also proud of our efforts to make Canada the best country in the world in which to do business because there is no better safeguard for the financial security of Canadians, their families, and their communities than having good, well-paying jobs.
Our Government is delivering on our commitment to balance the budget and, in our view, keeping tax rates low is the single most important thing we can do over the long term to spur economic growth and job creating, and keeping our budget in balance is the key to making sure we keep taxes down over that longer term.
Not just for businesses like yours, but for Canadian families as well.
Low taxes, not new taxes, balanced budgets, not reckless spending, a plan that works, not risky experiments.
We do all this because it is what works. Because that’s the best way to ensure security for Canadian families in a very uncertain world economy.
Thank you for joining me today.
Have a wonderful time at the show, and as you move forward on your home renovations, remember to Get it in Writing!
