Economic and Fiscal Update November, 2005:

– Decrease lowest tax rate from 16% to 15%, retroactive to January 1, 2005

– Increase basic personal amount over 3 years to reach $10,000 in 2009

Economic and Fiscal Update October, 2007:

– Decrease lowest tax rate to 15% from 15.5%, retroactive to January 1, 2007

– Increase basic personal amount over three years (retroactive to January 1, 2007) to $10,100 in 2009

What happened in between?

Well, in Budget 2006, aka Canada’s New Government’s first budget, the lowest personal tax rate was increased:

The lowest personal income tax rate will be reduced to 15 per cent from 16 per cent effective January 1, 2005. The rate will be 15.5 per cent effective July 1, 2006. Accordingly, the full-year rate for 2005 will be 15 per cent, for 2006, 15.25 per cent and, for the 2007 and subsequent taxation years, 15.5 per cent.

and the basic personal amount was lowered:

The basic personal amount—the amount that an individual can earn without paying federal personal income tax—will be increased by $500 to $8,648 for the 2005 taxation year. For the first half of 2006 it will then be increased by indexation plus a further $200, for a total of $9,039. The basic personal amount will be reduced by $400 to $8,639 on July 1, 2006 at the same time as the GST rate is reduced.

Cynical Leadership. An eerily identical Canada.