Officials hope new tax cuts to New Brunswick’s income tax rate will attract newcomers and, in particular, doctors to the province.
The recently announced cuts will benefit those making over $145,955 the most, while those earning under $44,887 won’t receive any tax relief.
That’s intentional, according to the government, with Premier Blaine Higgs telling the legislature that the cuts are intended to make the province more competitive with other jurisdictions from a taxation perspective.
“What we’re doing in all places is trying to find innovative ways to have people want to come and work and live in New Brunswick and that’s happening in unprecedented numbers, Mr. Speaker, so when people look here, they don’t want to look at the highest-taxed jurisdiction in the country,” Higgs said.
The government also sees the cuts as a kind of doctor recruitment strategy, with both Higgs and Finance Minister Ernie Steeves referencing doctor recruitment in scrums with reporters on back-to-back days.
“We’re not attracting all the people that we need to. We need medical professionals and some of those are in the higher tax bracket,” Steeves told reporters on Wednesday.
The claim that a lower tax rate will be a decisive factor in attracting more people to the province doesn’t make sense, according to Liberal Leader Susan Holt.
“That’s not what we’re hearing from people who are interested in moving to New Brunswick,” she said.
“What we’re hearing from people who are interested in moving here is can they get a house, can they get access to a health professional, they want to be close to nature. I’m not hearing that they’re weighing out our tax system to see if they will save $250.”
Over the past two years, New Brunswick has experienced an unprecedented population boom. According to the 2021 census data, the province had a population of 775,610. Statistics Canada now estimates the population to be over 820,000.
Green Party finance critic Kevin Arseneau said the money spent on the tax cuts is basically an immigration strategy and would have made much more of a difference in shoring up the infrastructure that has become increasingly strained under the weight of the province’s rapid growth.
“I don’t think someone who makes $140,000 is going to move to N.B. if the education and the health-care system are crumbling,” he said.
“They’re not going to come here for $3,000. This is a very, very bad investment.”
The government has cut income taxes two years in a row. March’s budget announced increases to the basic personal amount and the low-income threshold. Steeves said the intention is to continue lowering taxes, but wouldn’t provide details on when additional tax cuts are likely to come.