The Liberals' mythical deficit looking more and more unlikely 渥太华 - 自由党人,这赤字是怎么回事? 还有一个月就到财政年了,根据周五公布的财务部的数字,联邦政府将会有一个75亿盈余。 这与自由党政府的54亿赤字展望是一个非常大的距离 —— 该展望是联邦政府税收和支出计划的制定所依据的基础。 财政部长比尔莫纽仍坚持他的数字,说费用和收入在一个会计年度的最后一个月可能会导致显著的变化。 然而,到目前为止,保守党的数学计算看来接近这最后的结果。 OTTAWA -- What was that about a deficit, Liberals? With one month to go in the fiscal year, the federal government is looking at a $7.5-billion surplus, according to Finance Department numbers released Friday. That's a long way off from the Liberal government's projection of a $5.4-billion deficit -- a projection the feds used to base its tax and spending program. Finance Minister Bill Morneau is sticking to his numbers, saying expenses and revenues in the final month of a fiscal year could lead to significant changes. So far, however, the Conservative math appears to be closer to the final tally. The Tories insist Ottawa was on track for a small surplus in 2015-16. Experts -- including Canada's budget watchdog -- have backed that up, and suggest the Liberals have been understating the fiscal health of the nation, and worse: deliberately lowering their outlook to help them beat expectations down the road. Earlier this month, the parliamentary budget officer's analysis challenged the government's shortfall prediction for 2015-16, saying Ottawa will instead have a $700-million surplus. Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose told the House of Commons that the PBO report confirmed two things: "first, the Liberal budget does not add up; and second, good news, the Conservatives did leave a surplus." Morneau responded by saying that public revenues go down and expenses go up in the last month of a fiscal year. "The Conservatives left us with a deficit, as we will see," he said. Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau listens as he's introduced before addressing a Vancouver Board of Trade luncheon in Vancouver, B.C., on Wednesday April 27, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck THE CANADIAN PRESS AND POSTMEDIA NETWORK FIRST POSTED: FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016 05:35 PM EDT | UPDATED: FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016 05:43 PM EDT |
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