Federal government passes 2023 budget implementation bill

The bill to enact proposals from the 2023 federal budget received royal assent on Thursday, meaning that changes to RESPs and RDSPs, caps on payday loans and an expanded reportable transactions regime are now law.

Bill C-47, the Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1, implements the following proposals, among others:

• Boosting the limit on allowable educational assistance payment (EAP) withdrawals from RESPs to $8,000 from $5,000
• Allowing divorced or separated parents to open joint RESPs 
• Including siblings as “qualifying family members” for RDSPs and extending the ability of a qualifying family member to be a plan holder
• Lowering the maximum annual interest rate that payday lenders can charge to 35% and capping payday loans
• Designating a single external body to deal with banking complaints

The act also gives the Minister of Finance the ability to increase the coverage limit for the Canada Deposit Insurance Corp. until April 30, 2024. In the budget, the government said it would amend legislation to allow for an increase in deposit insurance and other measures during market disruptions. The CDIC limit has been $100,000 since 2005, and would be about $146,000 today if it had been indexed.

Proposals predating the federal budget are also in the act. One relates to the requirement for issuers of RRSPs and RRIFs to annually report the fair market value of all property held by the plans at the end of the calendar year. The requirement is for the 2023 tax year onward.

Another concerns the tax on house flippers, which will be extended to include assignment sales. The extended tax applies for dispositions that occur after 2022.

And the expanded reportable and notifiable transactions regime now applies to transactions closed on and after June 22. The length of the reporting period has also doubled to 90 days from the day a deal closes, up from 45 days.

Melissa Shin

Melissa is the editorial director of Advisor.ca and leads Newcom Media Inc.’s group of financial publications. She has been with the team since 2011 and been recognized by PMAC and CFA Society Toronto for her reporting. Reach her at mshin@newcom.ca. You may also call or text 416-847-8038 to provide a confidential tip.