Majority of Manitobans would support redirect of school tax rebates: poll

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This article was published 20/01/2023 (995 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Nearly six in 10 Manitobans would rather the province forgo distributing education property tax rebates this year and spend those dollars on social services instead.

A new Probe Research survey, commissioned by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, concluded 58 per cent of adults provincewide would prefer the Stefanson government redirect rebate dollars to support hospitals, schools and roads.

One-third of respondents said they would prefer property owners receive a cheque in 2023. Nine per cent indicated they were unsure.

The public opinion poll was conducted via online form between Nov. 22 and Dec. 5, 2022. It reflects responses from a representative sampling of 1,000 adults who live in Manitoba, the overwhelmingly majority of whom were randomly recruited by a live-agent operator and 237 members of polling firm’s online panel.

“On average, property owners will get about $775 each. These rebates will mean the provincial government has about $450 million less to spend on public services like health care, education and infrastructure,” states an excerpt from the poll that led to a question about how respondents would prefer those dollars be spent.

Molly McCracken, director of the CCPA’s Manitoba chapter, said the results suggest the public is generally concerned about the state of the health-care system and fallout of provincial K-12 education funding not keeping up with inflation.

“Year over year, school divisions are getting less money and we’re seeing that on the ground now with larger classes, lack of mental health supports, longer bus rides for children, things like that,” she said Friday.

“The taxes we pay are connected to the services that we get. There is no free lunch here.”

The province should be launching targeted funding initiatives, if leaders are serious about wanting to support Manitobans affected by the affordability crisis, McCracken said, noting many wealthy property owners are receiving sizable rebate cheques.

Urban dwellers, women and post-secondary graduates were all more likely to support a redirection of the rebate funds than their counterparts.

Forty per cent of those who voted PC in the last provincial election agreed the money would be better spent on public services. The percentage of NDP voters in agreement with that statement was double that figure.

A government spokesperson touted the fact the province is increasing the education property tax rebate initiative, the most significant rebate in Manitoba’s history, to 50 per cent this year.

“We remain focused on employing a strong, fiscal foundation that provides better services to all Manitobans. This includes taking a careful and disciplined approach to managing expenditures while protecting and investing in frontline services,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

“At the same time, Manitobans are feeling the squeeze from rising costs, and so we are lowering taxes to make life more affordable.”

The survey’s margin of error is within 3.1 percentage points of what the general results would have been had Manitoba’s entire adult population been surveyed.

A series of telephone town halls and in-person meetings on the spring budget will begin later this month, the province announced Friday.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie