Tuesday’s federal budget delivers on the government’s promise — eliminating the double taxation of dividends — but it offers few other treats for investors.

The budget proposes to eliminate the double taxation of dividends from large corporations at the federal level. For dividends paid after 2005 by large Canadian corporations, shareholders will be eligible for an enhanced gross-up (45%, up from 25%) and dividend tax credit (19%, up from 13.5%).

The pledge to reduce the double taxation of dividends at the federal level is a heldover promise from the previous Liberal government. The decision came out of its disastrous consultation over the taxation of income trusts, and it remains a measure targeted at that distortion in the income tax system. Indeed, the new budget says, “This tax reduction will encourage savings, investment and economic growth, and will make the total personal and corporate income tax on earnings distributed as dividends more comparable to the income tax paid on interest payments and income trust distributions.”

Interestingly, the new government’s budget makes no mention of income trusts apart from outlining the new tax treatment. This suggests that it has no intention of revisiting the issue, despite the fact that critics have pointed out that simply cutting dividend taxes doesn’t fully eliminate the tax advantage that a firm can enjoy by converting to an income trust.

The government estimates that the proposed change will reduce federal revenue by $375 million in 2006–07 and $310 million in 2007–08. The Liberal consultation paper on the trust “tax leakage” issue estimated that revenue in 2004 was $300 million lower than it would have been if income trusts and other flow-through entities were structured and taxed as corporations.

Beyond the dividend tax cut, the budget offers thin gruel for investors. There is no mention of reducing capital gains taxes, which was part of the Conservatives’ electoral platform. There is also no mention of RRSPs, RESPs or possible new savings vehicles, such as tax-prepaid savings plans.

The only other notable investor-friendly measure is a proposal to extend the mineral exploration tax credit for flow-through share investors. A 15% tax credit for individuals investing in flow-through shares used to finance exploration expired on Dec. 31, 2005. Today’s budget proposes to reintroduce the credit for the period from May 2 to March 31, 2007.

The credit was initially introduced to support exploration at a time when the mining industry was suffering. The government explains its decision to reintroduce it at a time when commodity prices are booming, by saying, “Although market conditions for exploration are now strong, reintroduction of the credit for a limited period will solidify recent exploration gains and help establish a strong base from which to move forward.”