Charles Sousa insists budget can be balanced on schedule despite lower revenues

[Locutus]

Joe Kool ‏@Kool_Camel

If the Ontario Liberals were put in charge of the Sahara Desert...in 5 years there would be no sand. #onpoli http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2014/11/17/charles_sousa_targets_conservative_government_in_economic_update.html … #onpoli



Ontario’s cash-starved government is collecting $509 million less in tax revenue than expected, but Finance Minister Charles Sousa insists he can still balance the books.

Ontario’s cash-starved government is collecting $509 million less in tax revenue than expected, but Finance Minister Charles Sousa insists he can still balance the books.

In Monday’s fall economic statement, Sousa revealed that corporate taxes are lower than he forecast in his July budget.

“This largely reflects lower levels of taxes collected in 2013,” the treasurer, who will dip into the province’s reserve fund to cover the decline, told the legislature.

Still, he stressed the deficit, which sits unchanged at $12.5 billion for 2014-15, will be eliminated by 2017-18.

more bullsh!t here:

http://www.thestar.com/news/queensp...nservative_government_in_economic_update.html

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Yeah right. It's all Mike Harris' fault.

 

[Locutus]

Found: Sousa’s leak, on MaRS



Finance Minister Charles Sousa released dismal figures in his fall economic update Monday.

There is, he lamented, a $509 million "revenue leak."

Well, here's a way to fix that massive hole in our budget bucket.

Do not ever get involved in real estate deals.

Last week, the provincial government quietly released 700 pages of documents Opposition MPPs had been pushing for on the outrageous MaRS real estate bail-out.

Among other things, we discover the appraised price of $303 million by the commercial real estate company CBRE was based on a 100% occupancy rate. The building is barely 30% rented.

The Liberals told us the interest costs on the deal would be $7.1 million. It turns the true figure is $7.1 every year for 15 years - for a total of $106.5 million.

So they spent $224 million on the loan and another $106.5 million in interest

more

Sun News : Found: Sousa’s leak, on MaRS