Yes, Finance Minister Eric Girard will announce a tax cut in his budget, and Quebecers will quickly benefit from it. The Caquists are even delighted to be practically the only ones on the ice to advocate this return of money to taxpayers.
The big fundraiser will announce the drop of one percentage point for the first two tax brackets, as the CAQ had promised.
Last week, François Legault had to crush his pride and admit that he had no choice but to postpone the creation of 4,600 4-year-old kindergartens for at least 4 years, even if he had put his seat on the line. this commitment.
While the opposition parties and the unions are calling on him not to deprive himself of precious income in a difficult economic context, he could also have pushed back his promise of a tax cut.
Especially in the first year of a mandate, therefore far from a possible political gain, while the next electoral meeting will be in 2026.
But the Prime Minister’s team believes that the other parties are on the wrong track, and that Quebeckers absolutely need a little help right now to deal with inflation.
For a person earning the average salary in Quebec of $56,000, this means an additional sum of nearly $400 that will remain in their pockets.
To be multiplied by two in the case of a couple.
When the cost of a common pound of butter hits $8, any chance to breathe a little is important.
The bottom
To achieve this tax cut, Quebec will cut its annual payment to the Generations Fund, created to reduce the weight of the debt, by 40%.
Many have accused the government of financing its promise on the backs of future generations.
However, it should be recalled that when it was created in 2006, the fund’s objective was to reduce the gross debt to a level below 45% of GDP in 2025-26.
And that goal has already been achieved.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the planet, the Minister of Finance dangled this room for manoeuvre.
We were starting to wonder. Should we continue to pay more than $3 billion per year into the Fund even if the objective is reached, or could part of this sum be used for something else?
There’s $19 billion in the pot.
And the government will continue to make it grow by continuing the payments, even if they are reduced.
We are far from a looting of the fund.
And health ?
What is embarrassing is to think of this lady who died after being left to her sad fate in the emergency room of the Hôtel-Dieu de Lévis.
Faced with this umpteenth proof of the bankruptcy of the health network, one wonders if we should not devote every cent possible to it.
But is it still a question of money?
The main problem is a lack of staff.
And we know that over the past few years, the sums earmarked for health have not been entirely spent, because many of the positions posted do not find takers.
You have to rely on the Dubé-LeBel combo to provide lasting solutions.
The caquistes know that in health and education, the possible fruits of their measures will appear, at best, at the end of this second term.
In the meantime, they will pride themselves on having given a little breathing space to Quebecers suffocated by inflation.