Manitoba’s opposition Progressive Conservative leader vowed Wednesday to reverse a planned increase to the provincial sales tax if he wins the next election.
Brian Pallister was speaking to reporters shortly after the Selinger government tabled Bill 20, which will raise the PST to 8% from 7% effective July 1st, and remove the requirement to hold a referendum before raising taxes. It was part of the NDP government’s budget announcement Tuesday.
“Absolutely,” Pallister responded when asked if he would rescind the tax hike law. The PC leader also repeated what the party hopes will become a new catch-phrase, referring to the ruling party as the “Spen-DP.”
“The SpenDP believes they can go back to Manitobans at every turn to solve their problem,” he said, insisting a tax increase shouldn’t be necessary to balance the province’s books. He promised to reveal his party’s financial plan Thursday.
The next provincial election is scheduled for April, 2016.
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Premier Greg Selinger’s government has defended the tax hike as necessary to pay for infrastructure improvements, and that dodging the referendum is necessary because getting flood preparations under way is too urgent to wait for.
“Well these are very urgent threats that we face,” finance minister Stan Struthers told Global News in an interview Wednesday. “We have to move quickly to make sure we don’t lose a construction season. As part of this revenue a hundred million dollars will be spent this year on flood protection … it will also go a long way to helping our own provincial economy so we have to move quickly on this I make no apologies for moving fast to get this work done to protect Manitoba families.”
Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger also promised Wednesday that, even though there will be no referendum on the tax hike, there will be no limits on speakers at public hearings into Bill 20 as it makes its way through the legislative process.
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