March 27, 2018 A budget kept in balance by a draw from the stabilization reserve Highlights Quebec 2018 Budget Economics and Strategy Despite $848 million in additional spending in fiscal 2017-18, the government estimates that the year will end with a surplus of $850 million. By law, this surplus must be paid into the stabilization reserve, bringing its balance to $5.402 billion. In 2018-19, when 4.7% growth of program spending is budgeted to exceed 2.2% growth of revenue, the government plans to draw $1.587 billion from the stabilization fund to balance the budget. Over the following two fiscal years, $1.415 billion will be drawn from the stabilization fund to keep budgets in balance, leaving $2.4 billion in the stabilization fund. In subsequent years such draws will no longer be needed to maintain budget balance. New measures announced in the budget are projected to cost $16.1 billion over six years. Of that amount, $810 million will go to meeting labour market challenges including integration of immigrants. A total of $1.2 billion over five years is allocated to education. Additional spending on health and social services is projected at $3.6 billion over six years. Reform of the school tax system is projected to cost $3.2 billion over five years. A total of $2.3 billion is allocated to support of small and medium-sized businesses, in particular to reduce their income tax rate to 4% from 8%, gradually reduce their rate of contribution to the Health Services Fund and raise the ceiling of payroll eligible for the reduced contribution rate. Business innovation and investment is the object of commitments totalling $1.1 billion, of which $655 million to support key sectors of the economy including biofood, clean technologies, life sciences and the financial sector. In this last case, the rate of the compensation tax for financial institutions will be phased out over the six years from April 1 of this year to April 1, 2024. In addition, the payroll subject to the tax will be capped to avoid penalizing financial institutions with a greater Quebec presence. The budget introduces tax fairness measures including the mandatory collection of Quebec sales tax by suppliers outside Quebec. Revenue of $350 million over five years is projected from this source. Real GDP growth is assumed at 2.1% in 2018, 1.7% in 2019 and 1.5% in 2020. Nominal GDP growth is assumed to average 3.3% over those three years. These assumptions are consistent with private-sector forecasts. The improvement of provincial public finances allows investment under the 2018-2028 Quebec Infrastructure Plan (QIP) to be raised to an all-time high of $100.4 billion, up $9.3 billion from the 2017-2027 QIP. With its Budget 2018 the government confirms its intention to reduce its debt load by drawing $2 billion a year from the Generations Fund from 2018-19 through 2022-23, for a total of $10 billion, to repay maturing debt. The book value of the Fund will nevertheless continue to grow, from $12.8 billion this March 31 to $17.8 billion on March 31, 2023. As of March 31 this year, following a third consecutive year of decline in the debt-to-gdp ratio, the government s gross debt is estimated at $204.5 billion or 49.6% of GDP, a ratio projected to fall to 45% by March 31, 2023. Preliminary results for the fiscal year now ending show borrowing of $17.9 billion, including $9.3 billion in pre-financing. The financing program is projected at $13.4 billion in the coming year and $18.6 billion in 2019-20.
A surplus of $850 million in 2017-18 Last spring the government brought down a balanced budget for 2017-18. The results for the year are much better than budgeted. Without the measures announced in last November s update, the year would have ended with a surplus of $3.037 billion. Those measures, notably personal income tax cuts, took a $1.34 billion bite out of that figure. This year s budget includes new measures subtracting another $848 million from the budget balance of the year just ending, for a final 2017-18 surplus of $850 million. By law this surplus must be paid into the stabilization reserve, bringing its balance to $5.402 billion. Balanced books projected for 2018-19 and subsequent years For 2018-19 the government budgets program spending growth of 4.7% and revenue growth of 2.2%. The resulting operating surplus is budgeted at $904 million before an obligatory deposit of $2.491 billion to the Generations Fund, resulting in a deficit of $1.587 billion within the meaning of the Balanced Budget Act. This amount will be drawn from the stabilization reserve, leaving a balanced budget for the year. The stabilization reserve is to be used in priority to maintain budget balance. Remaining amounts can be deposited to the Generations Fund to reduce the province s debt. In fiscal 2019-20 and 2020-21, revenue is projected to grow faster than expenditure but deficits of $936 million and $479 million respectively are projected to remain after deposits of dedicated revenues to the Generations Fund. These amounts will be drawn from the stabilization reserve to balance the budgets of those fiscal years under the Balanced Budget Act. Beginning in fiscal 2021-22, the government projects budget balance without recourse to the stabilization reserve, leaving the reserve with a balance of $2.4 billion at the end of the five-year planning period. Main budget measures New measures announced in the budget are projected to cost $16.1 billion over six years. Of that amount, $810 billion will go to meeting labour market challenges, including $446 million to ensure that Quebec has sufficient labour power. For immigrants, that means $190 million for, among other purposes, beefing up wage subsidies, integrating new arrivals and ethnic or visible minorities in the civil service, francization services and recruitment of foreign workers and students. The tax credit for experienced workers is enhanced by lowering the age of eligibility to 61, while labour income eligible for calculation of the tax credit for workers aged 62 or older is increased by $1,000. The cost is budgeted at $36.6 million in 2018-19 and $199 million over five years. Other measures are intended to increase the participation rate in general. An envelope of $278 million is provided for development of labour skills. These measures include enhancement of the tax credit for on-the-job training and support for continuing education. A total of $1.2 billion over five years is allocated to measures for schools and higher education. Additional spending on health and social services is projected at $3.6 billion over six years. A total of $2.3 billion is allocated to support of small and medium-sized businesses, in particular to reduce their income tax rate to 4% from 8%, gradually reduce their rate of contribution to the Health Services Fund and raise the ceiling of payroll eligible for the reduced contribution rate. Business innovation and investment is the object of commitments totalling $1.1 billion, of which $655 million to support key sectors of the economy including biofood, clean technologies, life sciences and the financial sector. In this last case, the rate of the compensation tax for financial institutions will be phased out beginning April 1 of this year. The rate for banks will fall from 4.48% to 4.29% on that date, to 4.22% on April 1, 2019, to 4.14% on April 1, 2020, to 2.8% on April 1, 2022 and to zero on April 1, 2024. In addition, the payroll subject to the tax will be capped to avoid penalizing financial institutions with a greater Quebec presence. The budget introduces tax fairness measures including the mandatory collection of Quebec sales tax by suppliers outside Quebec. Revenue of $350 million over five years is projected from this source. Reform of the school tax system is projected to cost $3.2 billion over five years. Debt management and financing requirements In establishing the Generations Fund in 2006, the government undertook to reduce the province s debt load. A little more than 10 years later, the book value of the Fund the sum of revenues dedicated to debt reduction paid into the fund and the investment income it has earned has reached $12.8 billion. Budget 2018 confirms the government s intention to draw $10 billion from the fund $2 billion a year from 2018-19 through 2022-23 to repay maturing debt. Since the Fund will continue to receive revenues dedicated to debt reduction over that period, projected at $2.5 billion in 2018-19 rising to $3.5 billion in 2022-23, the book value of the Fund will continue to grow, from $12.8 billion this March 31 to $17.8 billion March 31, 2023. Of the amount deposited in the Generations Fund, 18.2% will come from investment income in 2017-18 and that share will grow to 27.1% at the end of 2023. 2
As of March 31 this year, following a third consecutive year of decline in the debt-to-gdp ratio, the government s gross debt is estimated at $204.5 billion or 49.6% of GDP. Though gross debt is projected to grow $12.3 billion to $216.9 billion over the next five years, mainly because of capital investment, the budget documents project a decline of the debt-to-gdp ratio to 45% five years from now. Preliminary results for the fiscal year now ending show borrowing of $17.9 billion, including $9.3 billion in pre-financing. For the coming year the financing program is budgeted at $13.4 billion $1.9 billion for the General Fund after use of the Generations Fund and change in cash position; $10.1 billion for the Financing Fund; and $1.4 billion for Financement- Québec. Borrowing is projected at $18.6 billion in 2019-20 and an average $18.8 billion in the following three years. Over the past 10 years the government has pre-borrowed an average $6.6 billion a year. Government financing program (millions of dollars) Conclusion Solid growth of the economy combined with the fiscal discipline of recent years has given the Quebec government considerable room to manœuvre in this election year. This budget is resolutely election-oriented: program spending is slated to rise 4.7% in 2018-19 compared to an average 3.0% in the last four fiscal years. The $848 million in new measures tabled in this budget comes on top of the $1.34-billion worth introduced in the November fiscal update. In the next four fiscal years spending is projected to grow less than 3% annually. However, since that deceleration will not suffice to balance the budgets of the next three years, the government will need to draw on the stabilization reserve. With this government stimulus, Quebec s economy may grow faster than potential over the next two years, as the finance department anticipates. Beyond that horizon, however, as the economic cycle ages, that rather optimistic projection could be compromised by a slowdown or a recession. We accordingly welcome the partial withdrawal from the Generations Fund to pay down debt. We also welcome the structural measures to increase the growth potential of the Quebec economy and thus limit the effect on public finances of the decline of the working-age population. In this regard the budget enhances the so-called tax shield encouraging low-wage workers to join or remain in the labour force and the tax credit for experienced workers. In Quebec the unemployment rate of new arrivals is 6 points higher than in the rest of Canada, an encouragement to net interprovincial emigration. To counter this incentive the government plans to provide resources for better integration of immigrants into the labour market. Finally, the tax cuts for small and medium-sized business could eventually bring increased business investment. Marc Pinsonneault 3
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