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.