The Canadian federal budget for fiscal year 2013–14 was presented to the House of Commons of Canada by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on 21 March 2013.
Imports from nations including Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, and Russia were affected by reclassification, as they were no longer subject to the general preferential tariff (GPT).
[8] The budget proposal included a reward system for individuals who report Canadians with an offshore account, and eliminated the tax deduction for leasing a safe deposit box.
[11] Walid Hejazi of the Rotman School of Management said that the program is unlikely to generate much revenue, but may act as a deterrent for some potential tax evaders.
[11] There was an increase in the lifetime capital gains exemption to $800,000,[12] which was indexed to inflation,[13] a reduction of the dividend tax credit, and elimination of the use of financial strategies such as loss trading and synthetic disposition.
[16] The Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario had its funding renewed for another five years, averaging about $184 million annually.
[12] The budget proposal approved projects related to information-sharing and infrastructure for the "Beyond the Border" perimeter security program undertaken with the United States.
[17] This included upgrading border posts at Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle (Quebec), Landsdowne (Ontario), Emerson (Manitoba), and North Portal (Saskatchewan), implementation of a cargo security program for port facilities in Vancouver and Montreal,[17] and $19 million toward the Detroit River International Crossing.
[19] The proposal allocated about $2 billion annually from gasoline tax revenues to municipalities for infrastructure development and maintenance, including public transit,[18] under the Community Improvement Fund starting in 2014–2015.
[20] Infrastructure projects that may use such funding include highways, short-line rail, regional and local airports, short-sea shipping, broadband internet connectivity, redevelopment of brownfields, disaster mitigation, and those involving culture, tourism, or sport and recreation.
[24] Sustainable Development Technology Canada, a government-funded venture capital firm, was allocated to receive $325 million over eight years.
[29] The federal government expects to fund the $300 million program[30] by renegotiating the Labour Market Agreement it has with each of the provinces, which expired in 2014.
[31][30] Objections were also raised by First Nations about a five-year $241 million skills training program available only to reserves which make it "mandatory for those receiving income assistance payments to be retrained".
[38][39] Raymond Bachand, Liberal MNA and predecessor of Nicolas Marceau as Quebec's Finance Minister, regretted that the budget plans the phase-out of the Labour-sponsored funds tax credit between 2015 and 2017.