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Ontario 2008 Budget - March 25, 2008

Information on taxation changes was included in Tax Support for Families and Business on the Ontario Budget 2008 website, but this is no longer available. Changes regarding individuals include:

no changes to personal income tax brackets or rates

locked-in retirement accounts - the enhanced annual withdrawal and the 25% unlocking features of the new life income fund (LIF) will be extended to any remaining old LIFs or locked-in retirement income funds (LRIFs). See our Unlocking Your Locked-in Pension page for links to the prior changes in rules.

new property tax grants, beginning in 2009, for seniors with low and moderate incomes who own their own homes

increased thresholds for Ontario property and sales tax credits for seniors. These will be determined when the Federal government finalizes OAS and GIS levels for 2008.

new exemption from Land Transfer tax for transfers of farmland from family farm corporations to individual family members

Federal budget 2008 income tax measures affecting taxable income that automatically affect provincial taxable income in all provinces and territories except Québec:

	new Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSA)
	changes to RESPs
	reduction of gross-up amount for dividends eligible for the enhanced dividend tax credit. See the table of revised marginal tax rates for eligible dividends on the Ontario dividend tax credit page.
	increase in maximum Northern Residents deduction beginning in 2008
	expansion of list of expenses eligible for medical expense tax credit, effective 2008

Changes regarding businesses include:

	capital tax retroactively eliminated effectively January 1, 2007, for Ontario companies primarily engaged in manufacturing and resource activities.
	retail sales tax (RST) exemption for newspapers - definition of newspaper is expanded to include publications with smaller circulation or less frequent publishing schedules
	RST exemption for destination marketing fees extended for another 2 years

	RST exemption for admission to live theatres of not more than 3,200 seats - temporary exemption to be made permanent
	Ontario corporate income tax exemption for commercialization (OTEC) - 10 year tax exemption for new corporations that commercialize intellectual property developed by qualifying Canadian colleges, universities, or research institutes
	Ontario innovation tax credit (OITC) - refundable 10% tax credit on qualifying scientific research and experimental development (SR&ED) in Ontario, for qualifying small and medium-sized corporations. This tax credit is to be expanded to more small and medium-sized businesses, and expanded to more qualifying SR&ED expenditures.
	Ontario interactive digital media tax credit (OIDMTC) - this refundable tax credit is to be enhanced, and the time period for qualifying expenditures extended.

See Ontario Budgets: past editions for more information on the 2008 Budget.

Revised: October 26, 2023