Ontario budget hikes tax on rich

The Ontario government will increase taxes for those making above $150,000 a year.

The Liberal government announced the measures in the 2014 budget, released May 1.

People with annual taxable income between $150,000 and $220,000 would pay $450 more in provincial income tax as the rate would go up one percentage point to 12.16 per cent. Those earning above $220,000 would pay $5,500 more.

It would affect 260,000 individuals, but not households with a combined income of more than $150,000, the Toronto Star reports.

Read: Planning smart for estate taxes

Ontario currently has the second-lowest marginal top tax rate in Canada, says the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Read: Most don’t know how investments are taxed

The tax change would only come into effect if the budget is passed. The Liberals currently have a minority government, and Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak has said he would vote against the budget.

“We’ve got a budget here that quite frankly is a charade. Does anybody really think that this is a budget to govern the province of Ontario? Isn’t it really just a series of unconnected ideas to try to keep the Liberal party in office and then to buy the support of the NDP? I want to ask you: is that going to help a single person get back to work in the province?” Hudak said.

On Friday, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said she would also vote against the budget.

Also read: Taxes and your legacy

Staff, with files from The Canadian Press

The Canadian Press is a national news agency headquartered in Toronto and founded in 1917.