Your Budget Calculator

Posted: April 12th, 2012

It's been a difficult year for Manitoba's finances. The province faces a budget deficit of more than $1 billion, inflated in part by the huge costs from last year's floods.

In preparing its latest budget for April 17, the government faces the usual limited options for reducing this deficit: It can raise revenues, which means taxes and other fees, or it can cut expenditures.

Below is a rough representation of Manitoba's balance sheet. If you were the finance minister, how would you find an extra billion dollars? Moving the slider in each box, you can raise or lower the amounts. Your goal is to turn the red number to black.