The idea of tax reform is always one which attracts attention from the public. No one likes seeing their earnings pared away to pay taxes, especially considering at times it can be difficult to understand exactly why something is taxed, and how that money is spent by government.
That is certainly the case with property tax, or at least the portion of property tax which goes to fund education. It is difficult to fathom a connection between owning property and funding education.
Homeowners can at least make a connection in the sense everyone has either gone to school, or has family who have.
Farmers and business owners on the other hand find it more difficult to understand, and so have asked that question repeatedly. How has it been that a farmer pays for education with taxes from every quarter section owned, whether one or 100?
So, it's no surprise reform of the property tax front was a plank for the Saskatchewan Party when it came to power, and they have made strides in that direction reducing the education portion by taking on more of education funding at the provincial government level.
And, it's also no great surprise property tax reform led the list of recommendations in the recently released report titled, 'A Tax Framework for Saskatchewan's Continuing Prosperity' (see story Page A1). The report was created by the Canada West Foundation who were funded in their effort by the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Saskatchewan, Association of Saskatchewan REALTORS, Certified General Accountants of Saskatchewan and the Certified Management Accountants of Saskatchewan.
The report detailed seven recommendations for changes to taxes, with property tax reform still topping the list.
Of course with tax reform come costs to the province. You don't trim taxes without it impacting provincial revenues, and that is an issue in terms of how the government rebalances the budget.We can all agree that the idea of property taxes going to educational funding is not the fairest, but when you transfer those costs to the province's general funds, they have to be raised in some fashion, and that generally meets a tax of one kind or another.
The report detailed changes to taxes, but when Jack Vicq, the Saskatchewan Director of the Canada West Foundation spoke to the Yorkton Chamber of Commerce last week he wasn't offering where the dollars could be made up by the province.
That said Vicq did suggest "the important message is it's a plan," adding the recommendations look to create " a tax regime that is simple and more transparent."
A simpler system which is easier to understand in terms of taxes would be an admirable thing, but reform does come with costs, and while identified in the report, where the money to cover those costs is not so clear.
