I’m no financial expert and some of the things I will write about are, likely, rebutted quite easily but I think more of an explanation is owed to Saskatchewan people in light of the rank budget dumped on us last week.
Let’s start with the PST increase. When the budget was released last Wednesday, merchants were given mere hours notice to get their ducks in a row to correct their accounting systems and adjust their bookwork to comply. Come on. Now, from the other side, pretend that on Wednesday morning, you are about to finish a purchase of a nice, new $40,000 vehicle. The next day you come back to pay everything and learn the price has gone up $400. Thanks a lot Sask government. I mean, times are tough but the fact they couldn’t give people a warning that April 1st, the PST is going up is just plain desperate for money. It’s, off the top of my head, the most rank thing a government on any level has ever done. “Hey, the tax is going up, effective midnight tonight.” Unbelievable.
To me, what the government did was take the easy way out. I understand it’s prudent to keep deficits to a minimum. I’m all for doing what we need to do in order to be financially responsible. But, there has to be a better way to go about things. All the government did was look at the people currently paying taxes and decided they’d take more money from that one group of people. What I’d like to see are creatives measures that motivate those who aren’t paying tax to start paying. It’s oversimplification, but I sell embroidered jackets for a living. If I sell 10 $100 jackets in a year, that’s $1000. If I increase the price to $110, there’s a pretty good chance I won’t sell 10 again the following year. But, if I drop the price to $80, I might sell 20-25 or even more. That’s $1600 or more and an increase of $600 in sales just from reducing the price. There are Saskatchewan people relying on government programs and assistance to make ends meet. The reasons are plentiful, but we need to look at ways to get those folks to stop relying on government. The answers aren’t forthcoming in this column, but I believe as we’ve evolved over time the expectation on government to look after us has greatly increased and more people than ever before are content to be looked after by the state. If certain programs and services were cut, some people would have no choice but to go to work and start paying taxes.
There really shouldn’t be such a thing as an unemployment rate if we have the numbers we do drawing social assistance. I get that it’s a harsh stance, but I come from a low income family where, at times, drawing help from government was needed but whenever my mom could get a job so that she could provide better than what government could, she did so. I think we’ve gotten away from this kind of determination and removing some of the help government provides is the best way to do it.
One of Wall’s social media posts brags that Saskatchewan has grown by 163,000 people, but he doesn’t say how many of those are contributing taxpayers. I suspect not everyone who comes contributes and that’s the essence of my complaint. The same people are paying more money to look after even more people than ever before and it has to stop. At some point, we need a strong leader to say ‘No’. If you are planning a trip to Hawaii, but the bank account doesn’t allow you to go, then you don’t go. You don’t hold up a gas station and pocket the money so you can take the trip. But, that’s what this government did last week. If we can’t afford to support the people who live here already, why are we increasing our population by 163,000 and bragging about it?
The other thing that rips me is Wall has been very loud that now is not the time to install a carbon tax as Saskatchewan people and businesses can’t afford it. But, apparently, it is the right time for his government to increase taxes. And, the structure with which he did it will lead to what, I suspect, will be a sharp increase in municipal taxes too because some of their benefits were slashed. Which, again, leads to the same people paying more.
Here’s another thing increasing taxes will do: it will increase the probability that people cheat the system. Cash deals may become more common.
How many Crown Corporations are left in this province? How many of them are financially losing ventures? I get the sudden uproar about STC going away, but that’s one of the few things that made sense in this budget. Yes, folks rely on it. Yes, people are going to lose their jobs and it’s sad. But, it was losing a ton of money for a very long time and it wasn’t viable to operate. Maybe it’s time relatives stepped up to the plate to take their loved ones to the doctor, etc. Oh right, they can’t. They are busy working their tails off to make ends meet because governments wants more of their money.
