The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the Manitoba government to permanently cut the gas tax, cut the sales tax, balance the books and end corporate welfare in the next provincial budget. The CTF presented these recommendations to Finance Minister Adrien Sala on February 11.

“Kinew needs to make life more affordable for Manitobans by cutting taxes, permanently,” said Gage Haubrich, CTF Prairie Director. “Manitoba families are paying more in provincial taxes than anywhere else in Western Canada and that needs to change.”

A family making $75,000 in Manitoba pays more provincial taxes than families living in Saskatchewan, Alberta, or British Columbia.

To make life more affordable, the CTF is calling on the government to bring back the gas tax cut permanently. This would save a two-car Manitoba family about $587 per year.

The CTF’s pre-budget submission also calls on the government to cut the PST by one percentage point. This would save the average family about $304 per year.

“Every year the government fails to balance the budget is another year of a higher debt interest payments that taxpayers are on the hook for,” said Haubrich. “The government needs to balance the budget and stop increasing the debt.”

Balancing the budget would allow the government to pay back debt and reduce debt interest payments. The Manitoba government has spent $10 billion on interest payments over the last five years.

The CTF’s submission calls for scrapping corporate welfare and ending the government employee wage premium to reduce government spending. Government employees are paid more than regular employees doing similar jobs.

The CTF’s full pre-budget proposal is available HERE.