REGINA: As Saskatchewan's minimum wage rises to $8.60 today, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) says the province still needs to focus on lowering taxes for the working poor. The Fraser Institute's annual Tax Facts report, issued in April, shows the province taxes this group more heavily than anywhere else in Canada.

According to the study, the lowest ten percent of wage earners in Saskatchewan have 14.2 percent of their income taxed-the highest level in Canada, and much higher than the national average of 11.4. Other indicators showed similar results. In fact, as a proportion of all taxes collected, the burden on low and middle income Saskatchewan wage earners was also the highest in Canada.

"The survey confirms the province's taxpayers would be helped immensely by a higher basic exemption on income tax," says CTF Saskatchewan Director, Lee Harding. "The CTF has proposed the first $15,000 of income be exempted from taxes, instead of $8,945. This would be a vast improvement for the working poor, and would indeed help all wage earners."

The basic personal exemption (BPE) in Alberta is $16,161. In British Columbia, the basic personal exemption is $9,189, but the next $35,016 is taxed at just 5.35 percent-far less than the 11 percent that low income-earners are taxed at in Saskatchewan.

Other CTF proposals, including lowering the education portion of property tax, are also confirmed by the study. It shows that the average Saskatchewan family spends 9.1 percent of their taxes on property-the highest percentage in Canada.

"Raising minimum wages are no guarantee of creating or even keeping a job,"
Harding said. "Lower taxes allow people to keep more of their earnings and helps grow the economy."

These comparisons can be read in Chapter 6 of Tax Facts 15, available online here. The CTF's 2008 pre-budget report is posted here.