Pallister continues tax-cut theme, targets vehicle registration

By: Larry Kusch Posted: 11:45 AM CDT Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2019 Last Modified: 4:37 PM CDT Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2019 | Updates

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Brian Pallister announced another small tax cut Tuesday, as the Progressive Conservatives build on the campaign theme that they are the only party that will reduce taxes.

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Brian Pallister announced another small tax cut Tuesday, as the Progressive Conservatives build on the campaign theme that they are the only party that will reduce taxes.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/08/2019 (2216 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brian Pallister announced another small tax cut Tuesday, as the Progressive Conservatives build on the campaign theme that they are the only party that will reduce taxes.

At a news conference at a downtown Winnipeg autobody business, Pallister said the PCs would roll back a 30 per cent hike in passenger vehicle registration fees that occurred under the previous NDP government.

The Tory leader could not immediately say how much this would cost the government. However, he said the rollback would save passenger vehicle owners $35 per vehicle per year.

Brian Pallister said this morning the PCs would roll back a 30 per cent hike in passenger vehicle registration fees that occurred under the previous NDP government. (Sasha Sefter / Winnipeg Free Press)

On Monday, after asking the lieutenant-governor to dissolve the legislature, Pallister said a re-elected PC government would save the average Manitoba taxpayer $2,020 over four years.

The figure includes savings from the one-point reduction in the provincial sales tax that took effect July 1. It also includes the indexing of personal income tax brackets and the basic personal income tax deduction, which have already been implemented.

Also included are several small tax decreases announced by the PCs in recent weeks, including eliminating the PST from home insurance, certain personal care services, tax preparation fees, and the preparation of wills.

Pallister has promised a full accounting of how the PCs arrived at the $2,020 figure later in the campaign.

“We’re in the midst of the most significant tax reduction in Manitoba history,” he said of his government’s record. “The NDP never saw a tax they didn’t like, and they never saw a tax they would not hike.”

After the morning announcement in Winnipeg, Pallister headed to Brandon, where he repeated his tax pledge.

On Wednesday, he plans to make an announcement regarding health-care spending.

The election will be held Sept. 10.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca

Election notebook

Tax cuts and the provincial treasury: The Progressive Conservatives have combined old cuts and new ones in their $2,020 tax-cut promise. The most expensive measure has already been implemented: according to budget documents, the one-point reduction in the provincial sales tax will cost the government $325 million a year in lost revenue. Indexing personal income tax brackets and the basic personal deduction was budgeted to cost $36.4 million in the current fiscal year. The PCs have yet to provide cost figures on all of their newly announced tax cuts, such as eliminating the PST on home insurance and the preparation of wills.

Brokers group becomes political football: Which party is cosiest with the Insurance Brokers Association of Manitoba? The NDP and PCs traded punches on the topic Tuesday. The NDP compiled a list of 26 donors to the PC party in the last three years with connections to IBAM (total donations: $59,213). The PCs noted while the NDP was in power, an annual $250,000 Manitoba Public Insurance subsidy to IBAM was initiated, and broker commissions for selling public auto insurance skyrocketed. IBAM is currently embroiled in a dispute with MPI over control of future online insurance sales.

Nominations: According to Elections Manitoba, 171 candidates have been nominated so far in the 57 constituencies, including 57 NDPers, 52 PCs, 36 Liberals, 18 Greens, five communists, and three independents.

Quote of the day: “The NDP never saw a tax they didn’t like, and they never saw a tax they would not hike” — Tory Leader Brian Pallister, channelling his inner Dr. Seuss