

The Canadian Press





OTTAWA -- Ontario's Progressive Conservatives say they would eliminate provincial income tax for anyone earning the minimum wage if elected this June.

Tory Leader Doug Ford, who is unveiling key planks of his platform one by one, says he would bring in a tax credit by next January.

He says the program would cost the province roughly $500 million a year. As premier, he would only have jurisdiction over the provincial income tax.

The promise echoes an earlier proposal from Ford, who had vowed to scrap the tax for anyone taking home less than $30,000 a year.

At the time, an independent economic analysis showed low-income workers would benefit more from a higher minimum wage -- a Liberal plan -- than lower taxes.

The analysis from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found the planned wage hike would bring people more money than a tax cut would save them.

Ford has vowed to keep the minimum wage at $14 rather than going through with a scheduled increase that would bump it to $15 next year.