Payments will support families facing high interest rates and the federal carbon tax
A News Release from the Office of Ontario Premier Doug Ford
Posted October 29th, 2024 on Niagara At Large
Doug Draper at work in the newsroom, back in the days when there still were newsrooms. file photo
A Brief Foreword from Niagara At Large reporter/publisher Doug Draper – Between this announcement and another the Ford government made this past October 27th that it is extending the reduction on the provincial tax at gas pumps for drivers, it sure is beginning to smell like Ford will be calling a snap election in the not-to-distant future.
With that in mind, is this rebate and the gas tax reduction a way of bribing voters across Ontario with what, after all, is our own money?
And unless I am missing something, will millionaires and billionaires across the province receive one of these $200 rebate cheques too? Can’t their portion go to funding services like health care or public transit?
More on this later. Now here is the Ford government’s news release –
Ontario Premier Doug Ford. He’s a generous man with our money
As part of the upcoming 2024 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review, the government is supporting Ontario families struggling with the high costs of the federal carbon tax and interest rates by proposing to provide a $200 taxpayer rebate to all eligible Ontario taxpayers.
To ensure families with children are not overlooked, the government is also proposing to provide families with an additional $200 for each eligible child.
“We’re doing everything we can to keep costs down for Ontario families, but the federal carbon tax and high interest rates are still hurting taxpayers across the province,” said Premier Doug Ford. “This $200 taxpayer rebate will give Ontario taxpayers, especially families with children, some much-deserved help so they can make ends meet.”
The government would begin mailing cheques to recipients of the taxpayer rebate in early 2025. A family of five with two adults and three children would receive $1,000, if eligible. In total, this rebate is expected to provide $3 billion in support for approximately 12.5 million adults and 2.5 million children.
“At a time when the cost of living remains stubbornly high, our government is taking action for the families and workers of this province with much-needed relief to their household budgets,” said Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance. “We encourage taxpayers to watch their mailboxes for this taxpayer rebate in early 2025 as we continue making life more affordable for Ontarians while retaining prudent, responsible fiscal management.”
The government is able to provide taxpayers with this relief because of higher-than-expected revenues as a result of the impact of inflation on provincial sales tax revenues and the impact of recent changes to the federal government’s capital gains tax. More information about the government’s plan to keep costs down for people, families and businesses will be included in the 2024 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review, to be released on October 30, 2024.
Quick Facts
- Those eligible for the tax-free taxpayer rebate must be 18 years or older at the end of 2023; be a resident in Ontario on December 31, 2023; have filed their 2023 Income Tax and Benefit Return by December 31, 2024; and not be bankrupt or incarcerated in 2024.
- Families who qualify for a Canada Child Benefit (CCB) payment for 2024 would receive an additional $200 for each eligible child under age 18. The taxpayer rebate payment for children would be made to the person(s) who receives the CCB in respect of the child, who must be a resident of Ontario. In the case of a shared custody arrangement in respect of a child, payments would be split based on the most recent CCB available.
- For families with children who did not receive the CCB for 2024, the government would provide an opportunity for a taxpayer rebate payment of $200 per child through an alternative process.
- The government is proposing to extend the temporary rate cuts on the gasoline and fuel taxes for the fourth time, until June 30, 2025. These extended cuts would ensure the rates remain at 9 cents per litre through to June 30, 2025, saving Ontario households $380 on average over the three years since the cuts were first introduced.
- The government is providing relief to individuals and families across Ontario by making it less expensive to take transit, drive a car and attend postsecondary education, keeping energy costs down and increasing support for seniors with low income.
Additional Resources
For general inquiries on the taxpayer rebate, call ServiceOntario at 1-833-351-0409.
Learn about filing your personal income tax and benefit return
NIAGARA AT LARGE Encourages You To Join The Conversation By Sharing Your Views On This Post In The Space Following The Bernie Sanders Quote Below.
“A Politician Thinks Of The Next Election. A Leader Thinks Of The Next Generation.” – Bernie Sanders
Niagara At Large 
So instead of improving an existing service like- oh, I don’t know, healthcare maybe – he’s giving everybody $200 to help with the cost we all pay in carbon reduction payments which the federal government is already rebating to everyone. So while the carbon charge doesn’t actually cost anyone but the wealthiest (and even for them, it’s a small percentage of their incomes as they receive 80 percent back), he’s creating a cost by claiming he’s refunding money that’s already been refunded. But I wait at least six hours in the emergency room in a healthcare system he tells me is only affordable if he invites private healthcare providers to provide part of that service because we can’t afford a 100 percent publicly-funded system. Is this more of that “common sense” form of government he and Pierre keep telling us is coming where we sell off completed new highways allowing private corporations to charge us tolls for the rest of our lives? Would love to have some of that money back as well as the highway that would have been paid for years and years ago. That would have made life more affordable.
LikeLike