• The budget surplus will not be exclusively dedicated to reducing the tax burden and repaying debt as promised in 2014

MONTREAL - The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today reacted to the Couillard government's economic update. The CTF would like to see the government further reduce the tax burden on taxpayers, who have borne much of the burden of this budget surplus. The CTF is pleased, however, to see the government will continue to make payments to the "Fonds des générations."

"The budget surplus belongs to Quebeckers and this hard-earned money must go back into their pockets," said CTF Quebec Director Carl Vallée. "We hope that the government does not stop here and will continue to reduce the tax burden of taxpayers so that there is a real impact on finances of Quebec families who are better able to manage this money than the government. "

During the election campaign in 2014, the Liberal Party of Quebec made it clear in its platform that budget surpluses would be allocated 50% to tax cuts and 50% to the repayment of the debt. However, in today's announcement, the government said it will use part of this surplus to generate new spending.

"The $104 billion that the government already spends annually is more than enough to meet the essential needs of the province," added Mr. Vallée. "A budget surplus is not an excuse to spend even more. On the contrary, it indicates that the government is overtaxing its citizens and that it is time to put that money back in their pockets." In addition, the CTF is concerned about the absence of a government policy to reduce Québec's fiscal dependence on equalization payments in the coming years.