6 ways the Liberals say they'll balance the books by 2020

The biggest cost in the Liberal platform that Dwight Ball released Sunday is the cancelling of the harmonized sales tax increase planned for January. That leaves a $180-million hole in Newfoundland and Labrador government coffers.

Even without that money, the Liberals say they can still get to surplus in five years.

Here are six things they'll have to do in order to make that happen.

1. Sell buildings and land

The Liberals say they can bring in $50 million a year by selling off buildings that government doesn't need any more. In total, the province owns real estate valued at around $3.2 billion, which includes things like schools, hospitals and offices.

There are some buildings, including old schools and long-term care homes, that are sitting empty, so the Liberals say they'd make money by selling them off, and then save money by not paying for insurance, maintenance and heat.

The party is also promising to sell more Crown land to municipalities so it can be developed.

2. Bring in more money through economic diversification

The Liberals aren't able to say just what businesses would set up or expand over the next four years but they're expecting a lot of revenue from them.

At the platform launch, Ball said his ministers would be focused on attracting new business and helping them expand. They've set aside almost $17 million over four years to help do that, with things like tax credits and support for business incubators.

They're counting on it paying big dividends. Over four years, the Liberals are budgeting for $383 in new revenue. That money that would come from new businesses paying provincial taxes, as well as other line items, like the income tax that new workers would pay.

3. Make cuts across government

The Liberals think they can cut millions in government waste. Over four years, they're counting on saving $383 million, and Ball was quick to stress that saving won't come through job cuts.

The Liberals point out that the savings only amount to 1.2 per cent of the total provincial government spending. They claim that just by freezing discretionary spending for four months, government saved $90 million.

Areas they would target include unpaid fines and doing multi-year tendering, to get road work and other government projects done more cheaply.

4. Cutting the marketing budget

It's only $300,000 a year in savings, but the Liberals say Nalcor and other agencies and departments don't need to do as much advertising.

Most departments would see their marketing budget cut by 10 per cent to save that money.

The only budgets that won't be touched are the Tourism and Seniors, Wellness and Social Development departments.

5. Not budgeting money to replace the Waterford Hospital

The Liberals have promised to have shovels in the ground by 2017 on a replacement to the Waterford Hospital. It's a project the current government has delayed because it does not have the money.

There's $15 million in the budget to help study and design the facility, but the Liberals haven't budgeted anything for construction.

That's because they're not sure about the best way to build it. Traditionally, government hires a contractor and pays the cost as the building is constructed, and with the lower price of oil, the only place to get that money would be to borrow it.

The study would look at whether it would be cheaper to enter into an agreement with a company where the province pays half the money when it's finished, and the rest would be paid off like a mortgage over the next decades.

That would help the government's short-term cash crunch. The study would figure out which option would be cheaper in the long run.

6. Scrapping the bigger HST rebate

In the 2015 budget, the government promised to use some of the revenue from an HST hike towards a bigger HST refund. Individuals were supposed to see their provincial rebate go from $40 up to $300 a year, and the rebate was earmarked for more people.

Since the Liberals are scrapping the HST increase, they're also scrapping the expanded rebate as well. They say low-income people they've talked to don't want to pay more HST now and then have to wait to get a rebate months later.

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