The government of Canada released its fiscal report for the 11 months ended February 2010, and we continue to see considerable improvement compared to last year’s results:
In the February 2009 vs. 2010 (one month) comparison:
1. Corporate income tax collections are up 31%;
2. GST collections are up 52%;
3. Other excise taxes and duties are up 22%;
Employment continues to be weak; EI payments are up 35% from the previous year. As EI benefits will only last one year, it is likely that during the same period in 2011 that this number will be lower as employment picks up.
The next month will have tentative results that I will make year-to-year comparisons with, in addition to seeing where the government was significantly off with its fiscal projections compared to the Budget 2009 document that was tabled in late January 2009.