The Ministry of Finance estimates the measure will spark an additional 8,000 housing starts
Province boosts spending to counter U.S. trade pressure
Premier signals spending shift as province braces for economic impact of trade war
Province proposes increasing tax credit rate to 15% from 10%
Government says it will defer select provincially administered taxes for six months from April 1 to Oct. 1
The government also proposed amendments to support a permanent target-benefit pension framework
Proposal was part of the province's fall economic statement on Thursday
Budget items include an expanded Guaranteed Annual Income System and a promise to review tax system
Both housing prices and the number of home sales have grown in the past year
A major promise from the 2018 election that has not been fulfilled is a pledge to cut income taxes by 20% for the second income-tax bracket