Premier Fréchette Unveils Tax Cuts For Small And Medium-sized Quebec Businesses

BEAUCEVILLE — Premier Christine Fréchette has announced plans to lower the taxes of small and medium-sized businesses by $630 million over five years.

The tax cut will benefit 75,000 Quebec companies, Fréchette said at a news conference held Wednesday in the Beauce region.

Located south of Quebec City, the region is considered a major hub of small and medium-sized companies in Quebec. Many of them have been hard hit by trade tariffs imposed by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Fréchette made the announcement just two days after her trade mission to Washington where she lobbied American politicians and business leaders for Quebec’s economic interests.

On average, the firms benefiting from the cut will save $5,000 a year on their tax bills. Their tax rate will drop from 3.2 per cent to 2.2 per cent on the first $500,000 in revenues earned.

The total cost of the tax cut to the treasury will be $630 million over five years.

The measure was not specifically included in the March budget of Finance Minister Eric Girard. Fréchette is dipping into the $1.3 billion (over five years) slush fund Girard inserted into the budget to cover the costs of campaign promises made by the Coalition Avenir Québec leadership candidates.

Fréchette has $250 million in funds to splash around for this year. The tax cut announced Wednesday is expected to cost $30 million in the current fiscal year.

This story will be updated.

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