The Globe and Mail is reporting today that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is considering giving tax credits to homeowners who make home renovations. While there has been a lot of talk lately about large infrastructure spending in the upcoming federal budget, this home reno idea would focus on smaller but more wide spread spending. The idea is to provide personal tax credits for homeowners who make certain (yet to be determined) upgrades to their home. Not only would this help homeowners directly, but it could provide a significant boost to the construction industry.
There are a number of benefits to this type of economic stimulous strategy. Not only does it encourage long lasting home improvements, but renos increase the home’s market value. Plus, if the renos are energy efficient then homeowners will continue to save money on a monthly basis, through lower utility bills. As mentioned often in this blog, energy efficiency renovations can increases a family’s disposable income and help improve our environment. This type of program could also be executed quickly. Large infrastructure projects can often take a long time to implement. However, a surge in home renos across the country could get the economy going much faster!
What are the downsides? Well, these types of programs are typically difficult for the government to run, are hard to monitor and are open to fraud. Luckily the government is already running an ecoEnergy Retrofit program. This national program is well established, has strict rules, and uses licenced auditors to check that the renovations are completed as claimed.
So, if the government is looking for a way to boost the economy, provide long-term benefits for households, and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, one of the strongest options it has is to heavily invest into and expand the ecoEnergy programs.
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