A young family with only one full time income, the Melvilles say they weren’t expecting much on a personal level from the federal budget and that’s what they got.
Many of the tax cuts proposed in the document tabled yesterday are targeted at lower-income families and seniors, which Clarke Melville said makes the most sense anyway.
“Those are the people who need it most,” he said.
With the increase of the basic personal exemption — to $10,320 in 2009, up from $9,600 in 2008 — and the lowest and middle income tax brackets raised a few thousand dollars, a family like the Melvilles will save a couple of hundred dollars this year, he said.
“Which isn’t really a lot of money in the grand scheme of things,” he added.
The most significant detail in the budget for the Melvilles was the Home Renovation Tax Credit, which they said they’ll make good use of.
“It does kind of push you over the edge if you were thinking of making some home renovations; this just kind of sweetens the deal a little bit,” Melville said.
The credit allows for a 15 per cent credit on any home renovations over $1,000 and up to a total of $10,000 worth up to $1,350 for 2009 only.
Accountant Hamid Shaikh with Tax & Accounting Experts Inc. in Mississauga, said the current political situation does not allow for any bigger tax breaks.
“Any large tax breaks actually may contribute to bringing the government down,” he said.
Harper has to focus on job creation measures instead, he added.
Kevin Gaudet, spokesman for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said he was happy to see the broad-based tax relief for businesses, individuals and families that the federation had been calling for.
“We’d like to see that keep moving forward,” he said.
