Introduction

Thank you for inviting me to speak to you today.

The farm income crisis is an enormous challenge. It spells real hardship for farmers and the people in our towns and cities that depend on your business.

But what is the solution?

Income stabilization programs like NISA seem inadequate to the task. And the ad hoc farm package may provide some temporary cash flow relief, it will do little to deal with the fundamental problems facing the farm community.

It is obvious that Canada does not have the financial resources that the United States and Europe have to deal with the problem. We cannot afford to join the war of the Subsidy Superpowers over the long haul.

The solution to our problem lies elsewhere. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation believes that at least part of that solution is to reduce the growing tax burden on farmers.

Our federal and provincial governments have a lot to answer for.

They have failed to weave a system of effective farm safety net programs that will support and defend Canadian farmers while minimizing the impact on taxpayers. But they have been very effective in weaving a system of taxes and fees and red tape to support and defend government bureaucracy at the expense of farmers - and that is just plain wrong.

Of course the growing federal tax burden has been eating away at farmer's incomes for many years. But user fees have also increased. Last year, Canadian farmers paid more than $138 million in federal user fees for government services – almost a 30% increase from three years ago.

At the provincial level, farmers were also stung when the provincial government raised income taxes and other taxes between 1991 to 1995 by 57% or $1 billion. Lease rates for Crown pasture land have also been hiked by 25%.

And how about the new property assessment system introduced in 1996 and 1997? The provincial government claimed that the education tax on property would increase by $15 million in rural areas because of changes in the property tax assessment system.

That was bad enough. But according to our research, the shift in education taxes onto rural areas has been about $42 million – almost three times the government's figure! In fact, the amount of the education tax levied on property taxes in rural areas increased by 20% from 1996 to 1997.

It makes you wonder why rural areas are paying such high education taxes. Perhaps city politicians hear that pigs are smart animals and figure we must send them to school. (Which kind of make sense since we already elect them to office…)



But seriously…

When you add it all up, our government is harvesting a bumper crop of taxes from farmers!

Ladies and gentlemen, government cannot be part of the solution until it stops being part of the problem.

Our legislators should look at a range of measures, including removing education taxes from property taxes, reducing sales taxes, fuel taxes, income taxes, and cutting red tape. Governments must lift the oppressive burden of taxes and regulation that is crushing Canadian farmers.

I can't tell you that this will fix all of your problems. Ultimately, the solution to the farm income crisis may depend on international factors like an end to the subsidy war and the recovery of world markets.

But there are things we can do. We can make farm life a lot easier in Saskatchewan if we fix the problems that our own politicians made in our own legislatures.

Thank you.

By: Richard Truscott
Posted: March 05, 1999
Topic: Saskatchewan

Contact the regional director Colin Craig for further information.

Type: Related

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