Thank you. Page 04-9, revenue and asset management, operations and maintenance, total O and M, $4.696 million. Agreed?
Debates of Feb. 23rd, 1994
Topics
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 322
The Chair John Ningark
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 322
Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
---Agreed
Fiscal Policy
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 322
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. The next page, fiscal policy, operations and maintenance, total O and M, $738,000.
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 322
Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
---Agreed
Tax Administration
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 322
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Page 04-11, tax administration, operations and maintenance, total O and M, $788,000.
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 322
Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
---Agreed
Bureau Of Statistics
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 322
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Bureau of Statistics, operations and maintenance, total O and M, $531,000. Agreed?
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 322
Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
---Agreed
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 322
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Do we have any questions on the revenue side of this particular section? Mr. Dent.
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 322
Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I had a few questions on this page. I was wondering if the Minister could outline for the House what he feels are important factors in the projected drop in corporate taxes, from $53 million in 1992-93 actuals, $50 million in 1993-94 main estimates to a projected $23 million or better than a 50 per cent drop in less than two years, from 1992-93 actuals, to what is projected for next year in corporate tax receipts.
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 322
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. The section Mr. Dent is referring to is on page 04-14. Mr. Minister.
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 322
John Pollard Hay River
Mr. Chairman, there have been less profits made in the last few years with corporate income tax because of the downturn in the economy. That has been one of the reasons. There is also a lag time that we see in our information that comes from Revenue Canada. We did experience some high corporate taxes a couple of years ago and now we're seeing a decline again.
There's also the issue of companies having the ability to declare here or to declare somewhere else in Canada. It's never been one of those things that we are easily able to forecast. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 322
The Chair John Ningark
Qujannamiik. Thank you. Mr. Dent.
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 322
Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Thank you. I guess what I'm looking for is the Minister's ideas as to what was the biggest factor. Would the Minister say that the decline in the economy was the biggest factor in the decline in revenues? In other words, that corporate profits were down so significantly that we saw a drop of $25 million in taxes?
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 322
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. The honourable Minister of Finance.
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 322
John Pollard Hay River
Mr. Chairman, it's hard to pin this one down but in 1993-94, the assessed income was down by $100 million from just one or two companies. I can't say who the companies are, I don't even know who the companies are, myself. There are not a lot of large players in the NWT that are contributing to this corporate tax and when their assessed income is down by $100 million, obviously we get less money. So, I would say it's a mixture of a downturn in the economy and there may be some companies who are not declaring as much of their income as they did in prior years in the NWT for various reasons. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 322
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Frame Lake.
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 322
Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have another question. We are showing in the 1994-95 main estimates, a projected $11.7 million in payroll tax. I'm assuming that, rather than showing a net figure, that's what comes in from the payroll tax and the net that we actually show is in the personal income tax. I was wondering if we could get an idea from the Minister of the department, what would the personal income tax revenue be if it were not for the credit, because of the imposition of the payroll tax?
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 322
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Your projection, Mr. Minister?
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 322
John Pollard Hay River
Mr. Chairman, it would be an increase of $4.7 million so you would be looking at around $69
million. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 323
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 323
Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
So that means that the payroll tax, as it is set up, will net this government $7 million next year?
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 323
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. The honourable Minister of Finance.
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 323
John Pollard Hay River
In the cash flow, that is correct, Mr. Chairman.
Bill 1: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 323
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Dent.