QUÉBEC CITY, Dec. 4, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Minister of Finance Eric Girard today tabled in the National Assembly the Public Accounts for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018. The Public Accounts are available on the Ministère des Finances website (www.finances.gouv.qc.ca).
The government's annual surplus for the 2017-2018 fiscal year stands at $4 915 million. Bearing in mind the payments of $2 293 million to the Generations Fund, the budget surplus within the meaning of the Balanced Budget Act is $2 622 million, $1 772 million higher than the preliminary data presented in the March 27, 2018 Budget Speech.
The improved financial performance stems, by and large, from $1.2 billion in additional revenues as a result of an additional $828 million in income and property taxes and an additional $358 million in revenues from government enterprises. Spending declined by $565 million in the wake of lower-than-forecast spending on the government's missions.
The stabilization reserve stood at $7.2 billion as at March 31, 2018
The Act stipulates the establishment of a stabilization reserve to enable the government to protect itself against external shocks, such as deteriorating economic conditions, and to ensure public services. The budget surplus for the 2017-2018 fiscal year thus facilitated a $2 622 million payment to the stabilization reserve, which brings the balance of the reserve to $7 174 million as at March 31, 2018.
Opinion of the Auditor General of Québec on the government's consolidated financial statements as at March 31, 2018
Accounting standard respecting transfer payments
The Auditor General of Québec concluded that the government's consolidated financial statements comply with its accounting policies. She also concluded that they comply with the Canadian Public Sector Accounting Standards, except for the standard governing transfer payments. This reserve has been renewed since 2012-2013.
In this respect, the Ministère des Finances reiterates its interpretation concerning the authorization of a transfer expenditure, which was clearly presented in Budget 2012-2013, Budget 2013-2014 and Budget 2014-2015. Four independent professional chartered accounting firms also confirmed its interpretation in 2012.
Government investment in the S.E.C. C Series Aircraft Limited Partnership
Moreover, the Auditor General of Québec concluded that the loss in value that the government sustained on its $1 306-million investment in the C Series Aircraft Limited Partnership could not be significant as at March 31, 2018. Accordingly, her report no longer contains a reserve respecting this investment.
APPENDIX 1
COMPARISON OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE AND THE BUDGETARY BALANCE WITH THOSE FORECAST IN BUDGET 2018-2019
YEAR ENDED MARCH 31, 2018 |
|||||||
(millions of dollars) |
|||||||
2017-2018 |
|||||||
BUDGET |
REVISION |
REAL |
|||||
CONSOLIDATED REVENUE |
|||||||
Income and property taxes |
45 306 |
828 |
46 134 |
||||
Consumption taxes |
20 299 |
30 |
20 329 |
||||
Duties and licences |
3 947 |
18 |
3 965 |
||||
Miscellaneous revenue |
10 240 |
158 |
10 398 |
||||
Own-source revenue excluding government enterprises |
79 792 |
1 034 |
80 826 |
||||
Revenue from government enterprises |
4 735 |
358 |
5 093 |
||||
Federal transfers |
22 669 |
(184) |
22 485 |
||||
TOTAL, CONSOLIDATED REVENUE |
107 196 |
1 208 |
108 404 |
||||
% change |
4.2 |
1.0 |
5.2 |
||||
CONSOLIDATED EXPENDITURE |
|||||||
Mission expenditures |
(94 817) |
568 |
(94 249) |
||||
Debt service |
(9 237) |
(3) |
(9 240) |
||||
TOTAL, CONSOLIDATED EXPENDITURE |
(104 054) |
565 |
(103 489) |
||||
% change |
5.6 |
(0.8) |
4.8 |
||||
ANNUAL SURPLUS |
3 142 |
1 773 |
4 915 |
||||
BALANCED BUDGET ACT |
|||||||
Revenue from the Generations Fund |
(2 292) |
(1) |
(2 293) |
||||
BUDGETARY BALANCE WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE BALANCED BUDGET ACT |
850 |
1 772 |
2 622 |
||||
SOURCE Cabinet du ministre des Finances
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Fanny Beaudry-Campeau, Press Relations Officer, Office of the Minister of Finance, 418-576-2786
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