Premier wants province to be more affordable, competitive

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This article was published 19/10/2022 (1318 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Provincial tax changes are coming, Premier Heather Stefanson announced Wednesday.

“We’re not as competitive as we need to be with other provinces,” Stefanson said at a downtown news conference.

She revealed two new groups: the Premier’s Economic Advisory Council on Competitiveness, which will report to the province’s economic development committee, and a tax competitiveness working group.

The first entity has 12 members from the business sector. It will provide recommendations on how to expand the province’s economic growth, in relation to other provinces and American states.

The tax competitiveness working group, made up of seven tax professionals and business experts, will advise government officials on how to make Manitoba’s tax system more competitive. Finance Minister Cameron Friesen will chair the group.

“We have a sales tax that needs work, we have a variety of taxes that need work. If we don’t deal with these things, it creates a drag on Manitoba,” Friesen said.

He noted the Progressive Conservatives have already taken measures to change Manitoba’s tax system, including reducing the PST, indexing the basic personal exemption tax and phasing out the education property tax.

“We want to keep… young people here. We’ve got jobs for them,” Stefanson said.

Manitobans have been moving to other provinces in numbers not seen for at least four decades, according to Statistics Canada data spanning April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022.

Various business sectors — including hospitality and construction — continue to call for workers.

“Our personal taxes are off, and when you’re trying to attract people to work here, or businesses to set up here or grow here, that’s a deterrent,” said Bram Strain, CEO of the Business Council of Manitoba and a member of the new economic advisory council.

Personal income tax rates are just as important as corporate ones, Strain noted.

“We need more people paying taxes, we need more businesses growing here and establishing here to pay taxes,” he said.

Stefanson echoed his thoughts during Wednesday’s news conference.

“The way we will improve education and social services, health care, is by growing our economy,” she said. “If we are growing our economy, there’s more tax dollars that are coming to the province to be able to afford the social services that Manitobans need.”

The tax competitiveness working group will look at all provincial taxation, including the PST and the carbon tax, Stefanson said. She did not commit to reductions but reiterated any changes will be to make Manitoba more competitive.

The province will likely make changes to taxes in its next budget, Friesen added.

The initiatives have the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce’s full support, said Elisabeth Saftiuk, the non-profit’s vice-president of policy and government relations.

“When we compare ourselves to our neighbours on personal tax rates, we just aren’t where we need to be,” Saftiuk said.

Manitobans typically begin paying income tax after earning $10,145. People in Saskatchewan and Alberta begin paying later, after earning $16,615 and $19,369, respectively.

“Manitobans know Premier Stefanson’s plan when it comes to taxation is to help the rich get richer while making working people pay more,” Bernadette Smith, NDP MLA for Point Douglas, said in a statement.

“Her government gave cheques to billionaires and out-of-province landlords like the owners of Polo Park mall while raising hydro rates for working families and cutting health care and education,” Smith wrote.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com