September 2018
Fiscal Monitor for April – July 2018: The Good News Continues
The federal government posted a surplus of $140 million in July 2018, compared to a deficit of $193 million in July 2017. The turnaround primarily reflected higher GST revenues, up 22.1%, due primarily to timing factors given the abnormally low receipts in June 2018 and an increase in other revenues, up 11.8%. These increases were offset in part by lower personal income tax revenues, down 2.6% and higher total expenses, up 2.7%.
FORD’S DEFICIT (MIS) CALCULATIONS
Following the conclusion of the Independent Financial Commission that Ontario’s deficit in 2018-19 could balloon to $15 billion, Premier Ford immediately announced that he would form a special committee of MPPs to further examine the province’s past spending and accounting practices. He promised with great bravado that he would hold the Liberal government to account for its “reckless spending”.
This was very confusing to everyone.
Read MoreFiscal Monitor for April – June 2018: The Good News Continues
The federal government posted a surplus of $1.1 billion in June 2018, compared to a surplus of only $16 million in June 2017. As a result, for the first three months of fiscal year 2018-19, the federal government posted a surplus of $4.3 billion compared to a surplus of only $0.1 billion in the same three months of 2017-18. Budgetary revenues were up $6.5 billion, program expenses increased by $1.6 billion, while public debt charges were up $0.7 from year earlier levels.
