Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That’s a pretty hard act to follow, but I will do what I can.
I want to follow up on some of the questions from Mr. Dolynny earlier. My questions are addressed to the Minister of Finance. We have had a great deal of numbers put in front of us as Members recently. We have the numbers in the budget, we have statements from the Minister in the budget address and many of us over here are somewhat confused about where this government is going in terms of the budget and reductions and so on.
The budget address by the Minister of Finance mentioned the loss of some $30 million in tax revenue.
I would like to ask the Minister, first of all, considering we are losing $30 million in tax revenue, is the revenue that we are expecting from taxes -- actual cash -- and I got about $105 million plus $53 million as listed on page 5-9 in the 2014-15 Main Estimates in the revenue summary. So, is that money, that $158 million, going to be received in fiscal year 2014-15? Is that what we are expecting? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The main estimates document, of which I have my copy right here, lays out the budget. The one change we have made is to increase – and it is not even in this budget because the money won’t immediately flow and will be accrued to the end of next year, late ’15 – the Heritage Fund from 5 percent to 25 percent of the roughly $45 million that we take that comes to us free and clear. So, all the numbers are there and the revenues that we have projected in here are what we anticipate getting in that year. Thank you.
Thanks to the Minister for the clarification. So I have to then ask the Minister, he has advised us that we are expecting a $30 million drop in our tax revenues and that we got those numbers from the federal government in late December or early January, I’m not sure, but recently. So we have recently been advised that we are losing $30 million in tax revenue. What fiscal year are we losing that $30 million? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, that is projected for 2014-15.
So the Minister is then telling me that the $158 million in revenues, on page 5-9, that includes or that indicates our tax revenues including the $30 million drop in tax revenues that we have been advised. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, without cracking that budget book, I would say yes.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s pretty hard to make that short. So, those revenues have increased significantly from ‘13-14, so I am really quite surprised that the numbers in this budget, the numbers that were verified, I guess, by the Finance Minister in December or January, that we were able to put those numbers into the budget and print it and include the reduction in this year’s figures.
So I’ll ask him again, the $158 million in corporate and personal tax revenue for ‘14-15 are based on the estimates from the federal government we got in December or January. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, we have indicated in all the work we have done that the bump-up in revenues is attributed to devolution and that $67 million, roughly, has been added to our A-base into departments, mainly ENR, ITI and the new Lands department and some into the Executive, and all the consequential resources that come with that. So, it is carrying the budget that is there and that is what we are bringing forward to this House for approval. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Time for oral questions has expired. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to return to item 7 on the Order Paper. Mahsi.
---Unanimous consent granted
