OTTAWA – The Liberals promised during last fall’s federal election that nine in 10 Canadian families would be better off once their new child benefit package rolls out.
Significantly better — to the tune of $2,300 annually, on average, according to the finance department’s calculations for the 2016-17 benefit year.
Is that really true?
On July 20, Canadian families will find out exactly how much their new monthly payments will be.
But assessing the full impact of the new Canada Child Benefit (CCB) may take longer.
Here are some things to know about the new monthly child benefit:
How much will families receive?
When the federal budget came out in March, the finance department put out a simple calculator.
Since then, the Canada Revenue Agency has added a more complex calculator for all government benefits. It requires inputting more information, but calculates a more exact figure.
For lower-income households, the CCB is billed as a game-changer. Finance Canada says the CCB will lift 300,000 children out of poverty, compared with 2014-15 figures.
Here’s why: families with less than $30,000 in annual net income receive these maximum yearly benefits:
$6,400 per child under the age of 6.
$5,400 per child aged 6 through 17.
An additional $2,730 per child eligible for the disability tax credit.
