Potential tax hike dominates pre-budget concerns
Posted Apr 5, 2010 05:36:06 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s one more sleep until budget day in Nova Scotia and opposition leaders are drawing up their wish lists.
The Dexter government will table the 2010 financial blueprint on Tuesday, after weeks of hints about what it might contain.
Tory interim leader Karen Casey says she has two major concerns in advance of tomorrow’s provincial budget.
“One is, it appears that there will be an increase in the HST,” she said. “We know that statistics have shown through the poll…that 74 percent of Nova Scotians do not want that.”
During the finance minister’s Back-to-Balance meetings, about 80 percent of attended said they could live with the hike considering the deficit.
However, Casey says she doesn’t think 1400 people should be allowed to make a decision that will affect one million Nova Scotians.
Liberal leader Stephen McNeil says the tax hike will affect job creation and services.
“I’m fearful of where we’re headed,” he said. “We as a province are already uncompetitive. This government is looking at raising taxes, which is going to make it more difficult to create jobs across this province.”
McNeil says he’ll also be looking for money for economic development and job creation.
“We’ve seen nothing out of this government around real economic development,” he said. “They were in Pictou County, half a million dollars a job they spent to create 20 jobs. But really, what else have they done?”
Casey says she’s also concerned about funding for public education, noting the subject got short shrift in the speech from the throne.
“Two lines out of a 16-page document speaking to P to 12 education,” she said. “We value education in this province. It is the second largest budget in this province and for this government to not have a total section on public school education scares me.”
Finance minister Graham Steele said last week it could take up to four years to return to balanced budgets, facing a soft economy and a decline in offshore revenue.
However, he did say the deficit would be about $100 million less than projected.
