The Living Sky School Division board of education has put its support behind a private member's bill that, if passed, would see a full GST rebate for Canada's school boards.
Kevin Waugh, MP for Saskatoon-Greenwood introduced his bill in February and May 13 he spoke to it. Further debate will take place later this year.
Waugh describes the fact that school boards are rebated only 68 per cent of the GST they pay as a tax on tax. He hopes to amend the Excise Tax Act to see 100 per cent rebates to school authorities.
"Canadians pay for their schools either through municipal or provincial taxes. These schools are then charged 100 per cent GST on almost everything they purchase. They are subsequently reimbursed 68 per cent of the GST after completing cumbersome and time-consuming paperwork, quarterly," says Waugh. "My bill seeks to amend the Excise Tax Act to have the school authorities reimbursed 100 per cent."
Waugh, a former executive member of the Saskatchewan School Boards Association and a long-serving trustee on the Saskatoon Board of Education, says, in Saskatchewan alone, the 32 per cent reimbursement would represent a savings to taxpayers of approximately $8.7 million per year.
The letter being sent to Ottawa by Living Sky School Division and others across the province reads as follows:
"On behalf of the Living Sky school board and as a member of the Saskatchewan School Boards Association, we write this letter in support of Bill C-241, an act to amend the Excise Tax Act. This proposed bill would amend the Excise Tax Act so as to increase the goods and services tax rebate rate for school authorities from 68 per cent to 100 per cent.
“School boards across the country are funded through provincial government grants and, to some degree, through federal transfer payments. While funding levels may vary slightly from province to province, the range is between 85 per cent and 100 per cent government grants-based.
“This funding is tax-generated. Therefore, charging the GST on school board purchases means that the federal government is, in effect, adding a layer of taxation. This form of double taxation costs school boards millions of dollars, makes no sense and takes money away from the classrooms where it belongs.
“School boards across the country continuously strive to innovate, to streamline and become more effective in the face of increasingly restricted resources. The GST exacerbates these struggles. In addition, it imposes a complicated and expensive administrative burden. The current system of rebates, claims, and payments is onerous and complex and, in pursuit of maximizing resources for students, school boards are obliged to engage expertise to help obtain the largest rebates possible while complying with regulations. In fact, the federal government has offered courses to boards to help deal with the complexity.
“In Saskatchewan, like our counterparts across this country, we strive to maintain the high quality of public education for which Canada is admired around the world. We believe that it is the intent of the federal government to support school boards in their pursuit of excellence. We call on the government to recognize the value of efficiency in ensuring that school boards across Canada can maximize the revenues that provincial taxpayers provide to support education. We urge your government to support Bill C-241."
