WINNIPEG: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) has mixed reviews towards a report obtained by the Official Opposition regarding the Minister of Education's Working Group on Education Finance.

"A great deal of thought and effort has gone into the recommendations made by the Minister's Working Group, however the CTF is concerned with some of the proposals made including the increasing the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) and circumventing the Balanced Budget, Taxpayer Protection and Debt Retirement Act," stated CTF Manitoba director Adrienne Batra. "The province should be working toward relieving the onerous property tax burden by reallocating resources from non-priority areas, not by increasing the PST."

"One of the most important public policy issues in this province should be tax relief, not tax redistribution. By not taking away school board's authority to tax, savings will be moot, not to mention cash strapped municipalities jumping into what little tax room is left over by the province," said Batra.

The Good
The report's recommendations to implement legislative requirements to make sure that property tax savings are passed onto renters and reducing the overall property tax burden are welcome changes. "These recommendations are laudable since renters usually get lost in the property tax debate, extending savings onto the entire province will put more money back into people's pockets," added Batra.

The Bad
Thirty nine percent of CTF supporters surveyed indicate that education standards would improve by reforming the funding formula, however this should be done within existing means and not by raising taxes.

The PST collected in Manitoba currently adds $1.15 billion to provincial coffers and a one percent increase will bring in nearly $165 million more. "With the expansion of the PST in the last provincial budget, Manitoba businesses will be required to impose the additional costs onto consumers, thereby chipping away at some of the savings property taxpayers will have from the reduction in their tax bill," stated Batra. "This government is driven by the philosophy that it is okay to take with one hand and give with the other, but the end result is a zero sum gain for taxpayers."

The Ugly
The report recommends ways the province can get around a provincial referendum to raise the PST as is prescribed in the Balanced Budget, Taxpayer Protection and Debt Retirement Act. Batra added, "it's not only a promise made by the Premier to uphold the Act, but it's the law. The Act was enacted to protect taxpayers from politicians who would overtax, overspend, and send this province deeper into debt," concluded Batra.