The Canadian Taxpayers Federation released the prebudget submission it sent the government of New Brunswick earlier this morning.

“While New Brunswick’s relative spending restraint must be lauded, the current deficit is not sustainable,” said CTF Interim Atlantic Director Renaud Brossard. “We’re recommending concrete steps to make the provincial government more efficient and save taxpayers money.”

The CTF’s recommendations include:

• Personal income tax cuts to boost household disposable incomes;
• Replacing business subsidies with business tax cuts;
• Keeping the Permanent Assessment Gap in place;
• Reducing government employee compensation by 15 per cent; and,
• Consolidating regional health networks.

“For New Brunswick’s economy to recover, it’s crucial that its citizens have the cash they need to support and invest in their local economy,” said Brossard.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is recommending $318 million in personal income tax cuts. That would deliver $658 in annual savings for an individual earning $50,000.

Replacing $129 million in business subsidies with business tax cuts would allow New Brunswick to reduce its general business tax rate to 9.1 per cent, making it the second lowest in the country.

“Replacing business subsidies with business tax cuts would provide a boost to all businesses, not just those that are politically favoured,” said Brossard.

Out of every dollar spent by the government of New Brunswick, nearly 50 cents go towards employee compensation. When adjusting for education, provincial government employees earn 12 per cent more on average than their private sector counterparts.

“Bureaucrats paycheques are the elephant in the room: they’re bigger than their private sector counterparts and take up a significant part of the province’s budget,” said Brossard. “The government needs to find savings there.”

The recommendations would reinject $447 million into the economy which would be made possible thanks to $765 million in budgetary savings and make would make New Brunswick’s fiscal position better by $318 million.

To consult the CTF’s prebudget submission, click here: http://www.taxpayer.com/media/NB%20Prebudget%202021-22%20-%20Prosperity%20for%20all%20New%20Brunswickers.pdf