Budget in brief
Here are the proposals Finance Minister Paul Martin outlined Feb. 24 in his
1998 budget. They are grouped under Canadian Opportunities Strategy and
detailed on Finance Canada's Web site at http://www.fin.gc.ca/budget98.
Canadian Millennium Scholarships
- $2.5 billion endowment to fund more than 100,000 full- and part-time
students each year over 10 years beginning in the year 2000. Scholarships
will average $3,000 a year for full-time students who need financial help
and demonstrate merit.
Canada Study Grants
- New grants of up to $3,000 a year to 25,000 full- and part-time
students in financial need who have children or other dependents
Research and graduate student support
- Funding restored to 1994-95 levels to the three national research
funding agencies
Student debt relief
- 17-per-cent federal tax credit on interest payments on federal and
provincial student loans
- Nine-per-cent higher income threshold to qualify for interest relief
on student loans in April; partial interest relief in 1999 for those
earning more and still in financial difficulty
- Extended loan repayment period to 15 from 10 years for students who've
used 30 months of interest relief and are still struggling to pay back
loans
- Extended interest relief to 54 from 30 months for graduates in
financial difficulty during the five years after graduation.
- Government reduces loan principal up to $10,000 or half the loan,
whichever is less, if graduate remains in financial difficulty after above
measures and whose annual payments exceed 15 per cent of income
Upgrading skills
- Tax-free registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) withdrawals for
full-time education and training of at least three months, or for part-time
study by students with disabilities.
- Education tax credit beginning in 1998 for part-time students enrolled
in eligible post- secondary programs
- Part-time students with dependants can deduct child-care expenses.
- The Canada Education Savings Grant provides 20 per cent (to a $400
maximum) on the first $2,000 in annual contributions to registered
education savings plans for children up to age 18.
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