REGINA: This morning, Lee Harding of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) presented another 5,102 petitions calling for relief on school property taxes to Sask Party MLA Jim Reiter. This brings the all-time total to 17,002.
“School tax frustration is reaching new heights,” explained Lee Harding, Saskatchewan Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “And no wonder. Government commissions have called for the province to pick up 75 percent of school costs since 1986. More than 20 years later, almost half the cost is still left to be collected from regressive school taxes. When will this finally change?”
Last year, MLA Jim Reiter, the Legislative Secretary for Education, asked for public input on what to do about property taxes. In response, the CTF submitted its report, "Solving the Problem: Fixing Saskatchewan's antiquated K-12 funding system." Regrettably, the Reiter report won't be made available to the public until after the provincial budget is tabled in March.
"School taxes were our number one issue during our pre-budget consultations with Finance Minister Rod Gantefoer," said Harding. "In rural areas, school property taxes already represent 62.5 percent of the property tax bill. School boards in Regina and Saskatoon say they'll have to raise school taxes by more than 8 percent in the year to come. This issue is too urgent to ignore."
A survey of CTF supporters revealed that 59 percent want school property taxes to be eliminated entirely even if it means higher taxes elsewhere. Another 16 percent would support such a move only if it could be done without raising other taxes. The petitions called on the province to increase its share of school funding to 75 percent of the total, leaving just 25 to property tax.
"Saskatchewan is projected to have nation-leading economic growth for the second straight year. What we are calling for is an additional $120-million from the province over each of the next three years. We believe this is possible without a tax increase," concluded Harding.
The CTF’s school tax report can be found here: http://www.taxpayer.com/bank/report/184.pdf.
The CTF’s school tax petition can still be signed here: http://www.taxpayer.com/taxpayer/petitions1?petition_id=27.
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