Archived - Video Transcriptions

Welcome

Hello, I’m Jim Flaherty, Canada’s Minister of Finance.

I want to welcome you to our web site. Our goal is to provide Canadians with all of the information they need about Budget 2008, in a user friendly way.

To begin with, all of the Budget documents are available free, right here. To make navigating easier, we have provided a special Quick Index.

If you would like to watch the Budget Speech, we archive the budget day livecast and provide it with its own Quick Index.

We are also providing a multimedia section that tells the budget story in sound and images. There’s a narrated slideshow with a tightly-packaged budget overview.

There’s a calculator you can use to check out benefits of our Budget 2008 initiative to help Canadians save for their future.

We are also providing videos on key issues, and for the second year running these are available as Podcasts, to view on-the-go.

Take your time and learn more about the benefits of Budget 2008.

Thank you for visiting, and please come again.

Economic Leadership

Budget 2008 builds upon our government’s solid record of fiscal management. It’s an approach that is both responsible and prudent in this period of economic uncertainty.

Our government has reduced taxes by nearly $200 billion over this and the next five years. We have reduced personal taxes, business taxes, consumption taxes and excise taxes. In Budget 2008, we are rounding out our tax relief package for Canadians by creating a Tax Free Savings Account.

This flexible, registered, general-purpose account will allow Canadians to watch their savings grow tax free. Any investment income or capital gains earned in the account will be exempt from any tax, even when withdrawn.

And taxes will continue to decline thanks to our Tax Back Guarantee. As we reduce the federal debt, interest savings are being returned to Canadians in personal income tax cuts. Over this and next two fiscal years, we plan to reduce the federal debt by nearly $14 billion. By 2012-13, our government will have reduced the debt by more the $50 billion since coming into office.

Our government is also carefully managing spending. We are conducting reviews to ensure that all government spending provides value for money and is aligned with the priorities of Canadians.

Budget 2008 is like the budget of a typical Canadian family. Our government is taking care to live within our means.

Tax Free Savings Account

We are creating a tax advantage in Canada.

Our government has reduced taxes by nearly $200 billion over this and the next five years. We have reduced personal taxes, business taxes, consumption taxes and excise taxes. In Budget 2008, we are rounding out our tax relief package for Canadians by creating a Tax Free Savings Account.

This flexible, registered, general-purpose account will allow Canadians to watch their savings grow tax free.

The Tax Free Savings Account is the first of its kind in Canada.

This is how it works:

First, Canadians can contribute up to $5,000 every year to a registered Tax Free Savings Account, plus carry forward any unused room to future years.

Second, any investment income or capital gains earned in the account will be exempt from any tax, even when withdrawn; and

Finally, Canadians can withdraw from the account at any time without restriction. Better yet, there are no restrictions on what Canadians can save for. A first car, a home renovation or a family vacation.

I urge you to use the calculator on this website to find out what the Tax-Free Savings Account can mean for you.

Investing for Tomorrow

The Canadian economy remains strong. Yet we are mindful of the challenges before us; global uncertainty, volatile markets and the difficulties confronting our traditional industries such as manufacturing and forestry.

Budget 2008 builds upon our government’s solid record of achievement by providing long-term initiatives that support our businesses, not just today, but years from today.

To complement our substantive reduction in business taxes, we are extending the temporary accelerated capital cost allowance treatment for three full years. This initiative will provide manufacturers and processors with an additional $1 billion in tax relief.

We are providing $90 million to extend the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers. This program helps workers aged 55 to 64 remain active and productive participants in the labour market.

We are providing federal gas tax funding to municipalities on a permanent basis. This will help improve our competitiveness by providing Canadians with modern infrastructure; and

We are committing $250 million over five years in our Automotive Innovation Fund to leverage more investments in green technology in the auto sector.