(Bloomberg) -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party is pledging to raise the basic personal income tax deduction and lower cell phone bills if re-elected next month.

The Liberals would raise the basic personal income tax deduction -- the threshold under which no taxes are paid -- to C$15,000 ($11,300) for people earning under C$147,000. Currently, the basic personal deduction is $12,069. The increase would be phased in, reaching C$15,000 by 2023, the party said in a statement Sunday.

“I’ve been talking to Canadians across the country and I keep hearing the same thing: even with our strong economy and record unemployment, it’s still tough to make ends meet,” Trudeau said.

This measure alone will lift about 40,000 Canadians out of poverty, according to the party, as the “average family” saves C$585 per year. It’s also expected to cost an annual C$5.6 billion by the time it’s fully implemented, and paid for by soon-to-be-announced “measures that make our tax system fairer for Canadians,” the Liberals said.If re-elected, the Liberals would also seek to reduce the cost of wireless services by 25% within four years, according to the statement. To do that, they will work with telecom companies to offer plans at globally comparable prices, encourage competition and allow regulators to step in if that competition isn’t leading to lower prices. They also plan to award new wireless spectrum on the basis of consumer choice and affordability, and not simply the highest bids.

“Cell phone bills in particular put a lot of pressure on a family’s budget, with Canadians paying up to twice as much for wireless services than people in other G7 countries,” the party said in the statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Paula Sambo in Toronto at psambo@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nikolaj Gammeltoft at ngammeltoft@bloomberg.net, Theophilos Argitis

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