Balanced budget achieved. Next step: stimulate the economy.

Montreal, March 26, 2015 – The Quebec CPA Order recognizes the government’s determination to achieve the needed balanced budget that will pave the way to measures aimed at stimulating the economy. In attendance at the tabling of the 2015-2016 budget in Quebec City, Daniel McMahon, FCPA, FCA, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Order, scrutinized the budget in light of the four criteria he considers crucial: rigour, efficiency, transparency and simplicity.

Rigour

The Order vigorously supports the government’s choice in adopting best budget practices. In the wake of the initiatives launched by the Ongoing Program Review Committee last year, Quebec will now be able to count on a mandatory periodic evaluation of its tax spending. However, for the sake of transparency, the Order emphasizes the need for this evaluation to be made public.

Rigour in managing public funds demanded by the Order has resulted in the announcement of the implementation of a “cap on spending” for all new government initiatives. Thus, in order to avoid spiraling expenditures in the future, a mechanism has been introduced to ensure that no new initiative can be authorized unless savings equivalent to the cost are achieved elsewhere within the government.

Efficiency

By prioritizing the fight against tax evasion, the government is clearly responding to a request the Order has been making for several years that will enable the government to have access to all the financial resources it needs to fulfil its missions. The government can count on the Order’s support in this area.

The Order is particularly pleased with the changes proposed by the government with respect to intergenerational transfers of family enterprises that favours business succession. However, the Order questions the relevance of limiting the scope of these changes to the primary and manufacturing sectors alone, since all sectors contribute to Quebec’s economic development.

Transparency

The introduction of a new method of presenting budget information to the National Assembly, by consolidating all revenues and expenditures under the responsibility of each department, is a step toward greater transparency, which the Order supports. All members of the public and businesses must have access to complete and reliable information so they can develop an informed opinion on the management of public funds. The government can count on the Order’s assistance in developing measures aimed at greater simplification of public finances.

Simplicity

The Order believes that tax simplification should be a priority for the government. That is why it called for a reduction in the number of tax measures, of which there are currently more than 300. Despite the government’s expressed desire to simplify taxation, we must wait until the parliamentary commission has completed its work to see the extent to which the government will respond to the Order’s wishes. In this regard, the Order will work with the Partner roundtable announced in the budget to gain consensus on how to change Quebec’s tax system.

About the Quebec CPA Order
The Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec has 37,000 members and 7,000 future CPAs. The Order ensures the protection of the public and the visibility of the profession. It represents all areas of expertise of the accounting profession, including assurance, financial accounting, management and management accounting, finance and taxation.

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Information:
Cédrick Beauregard
Manager, Public Affairs
Ordre des CPA du Québec
T. 514 288.3256 [3024] 1 800 363.4688
cbeauregard@cpaquebec.ca

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