2022 Ontario Budget Highlights

On April 28, 2022, Ontario Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy tabled the 2022 Budget. Titled Ontario’s Plan to Build, this Budget contains measures to rebuild Ontario’s economy, provide support for workers, invest in key infrastructure, reduce costs on everyday expenses, and expand health care capacity to help the province stay open. No corporate or personal income tax rate changes were announced. 

The financial plan proposed in this Budget is not expected to be passed in the legislature in this session due to the timing of the upcoming June provincial election. Budget 2022 will likely form the cornerstone of the Ford Government’s platform. The measures announced may be brought into legislature following the election should the current government be re-elected. 

Tax measures in the Budget: 

• Enhanced non-refundable Low-income Individuals and Families Tax (LIFT) Credit with an increased maximum benefit of $875 (from $850) and reduced phase-out rate of five percent (from 10 percent) starting in 2022.
• New refundable Ontario Seniors Care at Home Tax Credit equal to 25 percent of claimable medical expenses up to $6,000, for a maximum credit of $1,500.
• Measures to modernize Ontario’s cultural media tax credits by:
• Extending the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit and Ontario Production Services Tax Credit to online productions;
• Updating the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit to permanently remove the hard copy printing requirement;
• Untethering the Ontario Computer Animation and Special Effects Tax Credits from other film and television tax credits to simplify the claim process;
• Reviewing eligibility criteria and incentives of existing tax credits to explore opportunities to encourage film and television production in Ontario, and
• Clarifying that eligible labour expenditures for Ontario resident remote workers can be claimed under the Ontario Computer Animation and Special Effects Tax Credit and the Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit.
• Extension of the temporary enhancement of the refundable corporate Regional Opportunities Investment Tax Credit by one year, to periods ending before January 1, 2024.
• Extension of tax relief measures for sales of assets in the electricity distribution sector by two years, until December 31, 2024.
• Continuing to address unregulated tobacco, including reviewing and modernizing the Tobacco Tax Act.
• Continuing to work with stakeholders and municipal partners to improve Ontario’s property assessment and taxation system.

The Budget also mentions the previously announced measures below:

• Temporary reduction in gas and fuel taxes
• Changes to the Non-Resident Speculation Tax

Full details of the 2022 Ontario Budget can be found on the Provincial Government’s website.