Ontario Minister of Finance released their 2023 budget and expects a $1.3B deficit with a surplus to be achieved in 2024.
The budget projected a plan weighted at $205-billion. Ontario expects to finish this year with around $200 billion in revenue a $20 billion growth than forecasted a year ago at this time. The province’s GDP is expected to increase by 0.2 per cent this year.
With workforce being a critical element across most sectors in the economy the government added $200 million to address immediate staffing shortages with priority as expected in the health-care sector in hiring students to work in hospitals.
ORHMA continues to advocate for hospitality presence in the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program ( OPNP) in the inclusion of Cook as a skilled position. We welcome the budget having an additional $25 million over three years to attract more skilled workers, including in-demand professionals in the skilled trades, to the province.
Through feedback from various Ontario municipalities, ORHMA understands that homelessness has grown to be a significant issue. We collaborated with the Ontario Municipalities Association (OMA) and other partners in advocating for provincial support and in turn a solution.
We welcome the additional support included in the budget realizing that more needs to be done. The budget is Investing in supportive housing with an additional $202 million each year in the Homelessness Prevention Program and Indigenous Supportive Housing Program to help those experiencing or at risk of homelessness, struggling with mental health and substance use, those escaping intimate partner violence, and support the community organizations delivering supportive housing.
Workforce is the most critical issue in most sectors including hospitality. There are programs rolling out and we continue to press government for enhanced hospitality inclusion and as we move into the next few weeks we will continue to do with related items announced in the 2023 budget- see the following list:
Providing $224 million in 2023–24 for a new capital stream of the Skills Development Fund to leverage private-sector expertise and expand training centres, including union training halls to provide more accessible, flexible training opportunities for workers.
Helping close to 27,000 students earn credits towards both their Ontario Secondary School Diploma and a postsecondary degree, diploma, certificate or Certificate of Apprenticeship at the same time through dual credit opportunities.
Expanding the Ontario Bridge Training Program with an additional $3 million in 2023–24 to help internationally trained immigrants find employment in their fields and get faster access to training and supports towards a licence or certificate.
It is mportant for us is to convert the various skill programs into hospitality success.
Supporting Small Business Growth
Ontario provides a small business corporate income tax rate of 3.2 per cent for Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) on their first $500,000 of active business income. This compares to a general Ontario corporate income tax rate of 11.5 per cent. The benefit from the small business rate is phased out on a straight-line basis for CCPCs, and associated groups of CCPCs, that have more than $10 million of taxable capital employed in Canada in the previous year and is fully eliminated at $15 million.
Ontario is proposing to extend the range over which the benefit from the small business rate is phased out. The proposed measure would phase out the benefit from the small business rate for taxable capital between $10 million and $50 million, up from $15 million.
This measure would mirror the federal Budget 2022 announcement in respect of the federal small business corporate income tax rate. Ontario intends to introduce legislation for this measure once the corresponding federal legislation has received Royal Assent to ensure simplicity and clarity for businesses. The proposed Ontario measure would apply to taxation years that begin on or after April 7, 2022, consistent with the proposed federal change.