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Quebec finance minister set to announce personal income tax cuts today, Nov. 21, 2017

Quebec Finance Minister, Carlos Leitao,
Quebec Finance Minister Carlos Leitao arrives for a dinner meeting with Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau and his provincial and territorial counterparts, in Ottawa, on Sunday, June 18, 2017. File photo by The Canadian Press/Fred Chartrand

Quebec's finance minister is expected to announce personal income tax cuts today as well as changes to the province's welfare system.

Carlos Leitao will give details when he releases an economic update this afternoon in Quebec City.

In a video posted to Facebook last week, Leitao said Quebecers in the "middle tax brackets'' will benefit from the cuts.

Leitao said the update will also include good news for people who do not pay any income taxes and who receive welfare and other government benefits.

The latest government figures indicate that out of the 6.5 million Quebecers who filed a return for the 2013 tax year, 2.4 million, or slightly more than 37 per cent, paid no income tax.

Quebec tabled its third consecutive balanced budget last spring, which included a modest $55 tax cut for the 2017 tax year.

Opposition parties ridiculed the government at the time for what was described as a meagre offering and a pathetic attempt to give back crumbs to Quebecers who suffered from Liberal budget cuts in the early part of their mandate.

Leitao said at the time that Quebec was on pace to end the 2017-18 fiscal year with a $2.5-billion surplus.

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