Tax cuts are a big part of the conversation early in the Saskatchewan election campaign.
That's music to the ears of Canadian Taxpayer Federation Prairie Director Gage Haubrich.
"It's great to see both political parties vying for the top office in the province recognize that Saskatchewanians need some tax relief," said Haubrich. "It's been a long time since Saskatchewan people have had a significant tax cut from the provincial government. Either way this election is going, we're going to see at least see people get some savings if the governments follow through in these promises."
Haubrich, who is from Southwest Saskatchewan, noted a Saskatchewan family with a household income of $75,000 has a provincial tax bill that’s $1,342 higher than a similar family in Calgary and $1,461 higher than a family in Vancouver. That is why he is lauding a Saskatchewan Party plan to lower income tax rates for what they say will equal $2100 over four years for a family of four.
"It's always good to get that number down first so families can save more money with an income tax cut," Haubrich said. "But as well when people are looking for places to move to, to start a business and that sort of thing; they're going to be more likely to look at Saskatchewan than those other places once we get more competitive in those tax rates.
"The next thing because they want to phase it in over four years is making sure that they actually do follow through on the full promise, but it's good to see they are making an announcement that they're going to try and make life more affordable in Saskatchewan."
The NDP's plan calls for suspending the gas tax, while removing provincial sales tax on children’s clothes and some grocery items.
"The big one that Premier Moe has over the NDP at this point is that his tax cut is going to be permanent," Haubrich said. "The NDP is only committed to cut the gas tax for six months, whereas this income tax will be saving taxpayers money for years to come."
The Sask United Party is also promising cuts to the gas tax and PST.
To those who are more concerned with the quality of services provided by the provincial government than the current tax rate, Haubrich again points out how Saskatchewan compares to other western provinces.
"That's why it's important to talk about how much taxes Saskatchewan families are already paying," he said. "A Saskatchewan family is paying more money in provincial taxes than the similar family in Calgary or Vancouver, but we look at the services they're getting in those provinces, they seem to be at least the same, if not better, than Saskatchewan. It becomes more of a where is the government spending this money problem rather than how much money they're bringing in."
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation describes themselves as a "not-for-profit citizen’s group dedicated to lower taxes, less waste and accountable government." It was founded in Saskatchewan in 1990.