Everyone, including his own caucus members, will be making Jim Reiter’s phone ring with requests to spend taxpayers’ money.
Starting a new job is always nerve-wracking, but Saskatchewan’s new finance minister is likely feeling more than just regular new job nerves.
That’s because everyone, including his own caucus members, will be making his phone ring with requests to spend taxpayers’ money.
With a new four-year government, Reiter can buck the trend and consistently deliver for taxpayers. That means providing tax relief, controlling spending and balancing the budget. It also means not kowtowing to bureaucrats’ pet projects or other politicians who want to run up the taxpayer credit card.
The government hasn’t been delivering for taxpayers for a long time. Instead, it’s been giving us years of deficit spending, increasing the debt and leading to more money being wasted on interest payments.
The government did promise some tax relief during the election. Moe promised to increase the amount a person can make before they have to start paying taxes and promised to expand a bunch of tax credits. That’s a good start, but the government can do better and provide more relief to all taxpayers, not just those who fit the requirements of a tax credit.
A PST cut is a great place to start. A one percentage point cut to the PST would save a Saskatchewan family making $75,000 about $337 every year.
A sales tax cut is important because it would help everyone, but especially those with lower incomes who have less money to buy necessities; sales taxes are a bigger hit to their wallets compared to those who are better off.
Reiter also needs to control spending. The Saskatchewan Party platform lays out a plan to balance the budget in three years. Reiter needs to speed that up.
The provincial debt will be more than $21 billion by the end of this year. That’s more than double what it was 10 years ago. Every Saskatchewan resident’s share of the debt works out to about $16,780.
The government is bringing in $19.9 billion this year. That means if it didn’t spend on anything and used every penny to pay off the debt, it wouldn’t be enough. Reiter can’t let the debt keep increasing.
The government is staring down a $353-million deficit this year, but the new finance minister only has to exercise a little fiscal restraint to defeat it. For example, if in the last budget the government held the line on spending for everything except the $1 billion increase to health and education, the government would be projecting a $331-million surplus.
Controlling the purse strings is a tough job, but the new finance minister needs to take it in stride. Instead of listening to bureaucrats who want the government to empty the taxpayer piggy bank, he needs to deliver more tax relief and a balanced budget.
Gage Haubrich is the Prairie Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
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