Reality Check: Facts about the Liberal plan for fairness

May 8, 2015

Fiction: Liberals will raise taxes on the middle class.

Fact:

  • We will cut the middle class tax rate by seven percent. Stephen Harper’s priority is tax breaks for the wealthy – like the doubling of the TFSA limit, which does nothing for the middle class.
  • Justin Trudeau is the only Leader who is focused on struggling middle class Canadians. Our plan will create economic growth and put more money in the pockets of those who need it most.
  • We will ask the wealthiest Canadians to pay a little more so the middle class can pay less. Liberals will cancel Mr. Harper’s income splitting and other tax breaks for the wealthy. We will introduce a new tax bracket for the top one percent – on incomes over $200,000.

Fiction: Liberals are offering no support to lower-income Canadians.

Fact:

  • Our plan gives families more money to raise their kids. The Canada Child Benefit provides greater, tax-free, monthly support to low-income families, when compared to Mr. Harper’s system.
  • With the Liberal plan, a typical one-parent family, with one child, earning $30,000 per year will get $533 tax-free every month. With Mr. Harper, the same family only receives around $440 after-tax. This plan is a part of our platform, and we will have more to say in the weeks and months to come about support for lower-income Canadians.

Fiction: The Liberal plan for middle class fairness is unaffordable.

Fact:

  • Canadians have two fundamentally different choices. Mr. Harper’s priority is a $2 billion tax break for the wealthy, and he wasted more than $750 million on partisan advertising.
  • A Liberal government will make different choices. We will put more money in the pockets of the middle class. Our Liberal platform will be fully costed, and our commitment to balanced budgets will be demonstrated in the fiscal plan of our platform.

Fiction: Liberals will cancel income splitting for seniors.

Fact:

  • A Liberal government will not end pension income splitting for seniors.
  • Middle class families should not have to pay more to give families like Mr. Harper’s a $2,000 tax break. We would cancel Mr. Harper’s income splitting for families with children under 18. This is a $2 billion tax break for the wealthy, of which 85 per cent of Canadians will never see a dime.

Fiction: The Canada Child Benefit demonstrates that Liberals are not committed to child care.

Fact:

  • Liberals are committed to affordable, accessible, high-quality child care. The Canada Child Benefit is one part of our platform, and we will have more to say in the weeks and months to come about support for child care.
  • The Canada Child Benefit provides greater, tax-free, monthly support to middle class and low-income families, when compared to Mr. Harper’s system.