The Canada West Foundation has recently conducted the most comprehensive review of Saskatchewan's taxes since 1965. The report, entitled A Tax Framework for Saskatchewan's Continuing Prosperity, outlines ways in which the province can adjust taxes in order to maintain the province's current economic success and growth. Jack Vicq, director of the Canada West Foundation, has been touring the province to outline how the tax framework would benefit businesses and people in the province.
On Tuesday he was in Yorkton speaking at a Yorkton Chamber of Commerce Luncheon event.
The recommendations in the report fall into three categories, Property Tax recommendations, Personal Income Tax recommendations, and Corporate Invest-ment recommendations.
"The property tax recommendations primarily deal with the education portion of property tax. A recommendation that some of what is now imposed on commercial or industrial properties be shifted to other revenue sources. Personal income tax, the recommendation is that instead of a three rate structure which is currently 11, 13 and 15 per cent, that it be compacted to a two rate structure of nine and 12," Vicq explains.
"With the business investment group has three options for the government. One option has to do with harmonization, one has to do with significant decreases in the corporate tax rate, both in the general and the small business rate, and the third option has smaller decreases in those two rates but some investment credits pertaining to business inputs."
The goal of the recommendations is to increase Saskatchewan's growth and competitiveness in industry, Vicq explains.
Given that it has been such a long time since the last report of this nature, Vicq notes that there are some areas which had not been addressed until now. Vicq says that there is a need for property tax assessments to be more transparent and frequent, so people know why they are paying what they are.
The plan is long term, something which Vicq says is necessary to allow the province to be able to afford the changes and keep from going into debt while implementing them.
"Our recommendations are over eight or nine years, and some people in Saskat-chewan would like to say let's do it now, if it's important. What we heard when people answered the survey is that they don't want Saskatchewan to go into a deficit for this purpose, so that's one of the reason that we suggested an eight year period," Vicq explains.
One recommendation where Vicq sees many people getting on board is the proposals for changes to property tax, and sourcing education revenue from other sources. Vicq says that the change would continue steps the government has taken with agricultural land to change funding sources for education.
Vicq says that the report was overdue, as in the 45 years since the last comprehensive review, only bits and pieces of the tax strategy was looked at, rather than the whole.
The complete report is available on the Canada West Foundation's website at www.cwf.ca.
