Ottawa is also changing the rules regarding the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) so that single parents receive comparable tax treatment to two-parent families.

"When there are two parents, the UCCB is taxed to the lower income parent, when you are a single parent you could be facing higher effective taxation on that benefit," says Carroll. Under the budget proposals, single parents will be allowed to include the benefit as part of the income of the dependent child. "In most cases, that child will not be taxed, so that should assist single parents, who are dealing with different issues than two-parent families."

For 2010, Ottawa estimates, the change will provide up to $168 in tax relief for single parents with one child under six years of age. In shared-custody situations, the UCCB taxable benefit will be split between the two parents.

Improving the RDSP

Changes to the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) will allow a ten-year carry forward of Canada Disability Savings Grant and Canada Disability Savings Bond entitlements "in recognition of the fact that families of children with disabilities may not be able to contribute regularly to their plans," the budget documents state. ( Full story available on my blog: http://www.richardpike.ca/blog )

What's in it for consumers?

The government is proposing measures affecting federally regulated financial institutions. They include:

Prohibiting negative-option billing in the financial sector. A financial institution won't be able to bill you for products or services unless you've agreed to them.

Standardizing the calculation and disclosure of mortgage pre-payment penalties.

Reducing from seven days to four, the maximum time a financial institution can hold funds from a cheque you deposit to your account. As well, the institution would have to allow you to access up to $100 from that cheque within 24 hours

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2010/03/04/budget-highlights.html#ixzz0hFl5OS0k