François Legault and Dominique Anglade are vying for the hearts of voters by promising them an “anti-inflation shield” respectively (Coalition avenir Québec [CAQ]) and a “Portfolio Plan” (Liberal Party of Quebec[PLQ]) accompanied by tax cuts.
The CAQ leader promised during his second day of campaigning — which took him from Quebec City to Beauceville via Rivière-du-Loup and Lévis — to send a check for $400 or $600 to people earning at most $100,000, then a tax cut.
A CAQ government would pay a one-time amount to offset the cost of living increase of $600 to taxpayers who earned less than $50,000 in 2021 and $400 to those who earned between $50,000 and $100,000 in 2021, and this, in time for the holiday season, announced Mr. Legault, after walking the aisles of the Marché Carrier, in Lévis, Monday afternoon.
“Oppositionists prefer to give discounts on gasoline or other goods. We, at the CAQ, believe that Quebecers should have the right to choose what to do with these amounts, ”he argued.
A one percentage point lowering of the tax rate for the first two brackets would follow in 2023.
According to the CAQ’s calculations, a Quebecer receiving $80,000 would pay approximately $630 less in taxes per year, while a Quebecer pocketing $92,580 or more would pay approximately $810 less per year. “It’s still not nothing! launched François Legault, promising to carry out “the largest tax cut in the history of Quebec” which will last until… 2032.
The CAQ would finance it by drawing on the payments provided for in the Generations Fund – which is there to “lower the debt”, explained Mr. Legault – at the rate of two billion per year from 2023 to 2026, then five billion per year from 2032.
By acting in this way, the Quebec government would not reconnect with “liberal austerity” or even repeated deficits, which would increase the debt, underlined Mr. Legault.
Nevertheless, Force Jeunesse, a group for the defense of “rights [et des] interests of Quebec’s youth in the development of public policy”, cried foul. “To build his shield against inflation, François Legault cannot use pieces of the armor that Quebec youth have acquired to ensure their future,” argued its president, Simon Telles.
The PLQ also wants to “give back”
The Liberal leader felt that the CAQ was committing heresy by financing its tax cuts by reducing payments intended to reduce Quebec’s debt. “What is historic in what Mr. Legault has announced is the fact that he has decided to mortgage the future of future generations by dipping into the Generations Fund. »
Dominique Anglade maintained that slowing the payments would have a major impact on the financial markets, without being able to specify exactly which one.
Before the unveiling of the CAQ’s plan, the QLP announced on Monday that it was consolidating its measures against inflation in a “Portfolio Plan”. The group has also made a commitment to return an average of $5,000 per year to the budget of a family of two adults and two children.
Unveiling a new part of their strategy, the Liberals promised on Monday to increase the solidarity credit for the poor by 25% over five years, which could bring in up to $325 per person.
Mme Anglade recalled that in June, his party promised tax cuts, a freeze on Hydro-Quebec rates and a QST credit on the electricity bill and basic necessities.
The PLQ specified that other measures would be unveiled during the campaign to arrive at this amount of $5,000, which would be recurring. So far, the four known measurements correspond to two-thirds of the objective.
“We understood the importance of giving back the means to each Quebec family, $5,000 for each Quebec family,” said Ms.me England. The intention is very clear. And there will be other announcements that will be made to reinforce this flagship measure. »
The duration of the Hydro-Quebec tariff freeze has not been specified, but it would be temporary, until another formula is found for their indexation according to inflation decided by the CAQ government.
“We are going to freeze for a period that will allow us to review the way it is done and to depoliticize the way it is done,” she said.
The PLQ estimates that the total value of its tax measures, the portrait of which is incomplete for the moment, amounts to $3.8 billion.
“We don’t want it to be Quebecers who go into debt, versus the government,” said the Liberal leader. What we want is for Quebeckers to stop going into debt and for them to have better purchasing power. »
The CAQ leader finds that the PLQ understood late on the importance of reducing the tax burden of Quebecers. “In 2018, the CAQ was the only party that talked about the wallets of Quebecers. There are four parties that seem to have discovered this in the last few months,” he said.
The chartered accountant asked those who find the Liberal “Portfolio Plan” particularly attractive to wait for the presentation of all the measures of the CAQ “anti-inflation shield” “before making this kind of judgment”.