SASKATOON, SK: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is sounding the alarm over tax hikes hitting Saskatchewan in the New Year.

“Other provinces are cutting taxes while the Saskatchewan government is raising them on job creators,” said Gage Haubrich, CTF Prairie Director. “This tax hike will hurt businesses, and it won’t even make a dent in the provincial government’s current fiscal problems.”

In 2020, the government of Saskatchewan lowered the small business tax rate from two to zero per cent.

“Lowering taxes for every small business in our province over the next three years will help them to recover from the pandemic and enable them to retain and hire more workers,” said Finance Minister Donna Harpauer after reducing the tax in 2020.

During the three years of the cut, the average small business saved about $6,100.

In July 2023, it was hiked back up to one per cent. In 2024, the government is raising the tax to two per cent.

After raising the tax, the government can only expect tax revenue to increase by one per cent.

By comparison, Manitoba’s small business tax rate is zero per cent.

NDP Premier Wab Kinew is also cutting Manitoba’s provincial gas tax next month to make life more affordable.

“Saskatchewan businesses need tax relief, not tax hikes,” Haubrich said. “Saskatchewan is going in the wrong direction by raising this tax. It needs to stop the hike and cut the tax for good.”

You can read the CTF’s full New Year’s Tax Changes report here.