SASKATCHEWAN NDP BACKS CALL BY REGINA CITY COUNCIL TO END SCOTT MOE’S JOB-KILLING TAX ON CONSTRUCTION LABOUR

Motion Passed Thursday Calls For, Among Things, An End To Construction Labour PST
REGINA – The Saskatchewan NDP is calling on Scott Moe to listen to Regina’s mayor and city council and put an immediate end to his job-killing tax on construction labour.

“We lost 4,000 jobs in December, and Scott Moe has one of the worst job creation records — clearly it’s time for change,” said Erika Ritchie, Saskatchewan NDP Shadow Minister for Government Relations. “Our population is declining for the first time in 20 years outside of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“Now, is not the time to penalize the very people trying to build Saskatchewan’s future. We should be supporting the creation of good-paying construction jobs and good projects that our cities so desperately want to build.”
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The Sask. Party’s six per cent tax on construction labour, introduced in 2017, costs builders an estimated $484 million annually. The tax applies to construction labour and materials used in the improvement of property.
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Ritchie has previously hammered the Sask. Party for downloading costs onto municipalities which, in turn, forced municipal councillors to raise property taxes.
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"We’re in a cost-of-living crisis — we need fewer Sask. Party taxes, not more taxes,” Ritchie said.
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Regina Mayor Chad Bachynski was quoted Thursday as saying the following: “If we don’t pay PST on construction, we have more money that we can invest in other projects to make up that [infrastructure] deficit faster. Every opportunity we have only helps us accelerate our ability to get out of that deficit.”
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“This is really simple — if we don’t tax construction, we will see more construction, more jobs, more revenue and more prosperity for everyone,” said Sally Housser, Saskatchewan NDP Shadow Minister for Energy & Resource Development.
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“Let’s be clear, the only reason Scott Moe continues to collect this tax is to use municipalities and those building our province for the future as his personal piggy bank to cover for the fiscal disaster he’s created.”
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Moe has driven the provincial debt to $40 billion and climbing — he’s responsible for doubling the debt load of Grant Devine and three times that of Brad Wall.
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“Scott Moe is hammering the people of Saskatchewan twice — first with a construction labour tax and then a second time on their property taxes,” Housser said.
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“The Saskatchewan NDP Government led by Carla Beck will get to work on Day 1 killing Scott Moe’s taxes and making life more affordable for families. It’s time for change.”
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NDP Caucus Office