+PK ^L YLHSS` ULLK H TPSSPVU KLÄJP[ in Saskatchewan’s budget?

Much political back-patting occurred when the SaskatchHZDQ 3DUW\ *RYHUQPHQW WDEOHG D PLOOLRQ GH¿FLW budget in the legislature.

7KH GH¿FLW FDPH GRZQ E\ ELOOLRQ IURP WKH SUHvious year — a year of extraordinary pandemic measure spending.

Never addressed was the real question: is there a QHHG IRU D GH¿FLW EXGJHW DW DOO"

7KLV UHYLHZ ZLOO VKRZ KRZ WKH GH¿FLW FRXOG EH HOLPinated and relieve the need to repay hundreds of millions of dollars in debt in future.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to examine the few SDJHV LQ WKH EXGJHW GHYRWHG WR WD[ H[SHQGLWXUHV WR ¿QG QHZ VRXUFHV RI UHYHQXH DQG HOLPLQDWH WKH GH¿FLW

Tax expenditures are government estimates of lost tax revenues from tax exempt sources.

The tax expenditures fall into three main categories: social measures to assist families, individuals and the sick; measures to encourage savings or retirement; measures to build the economy.

Exemptions to the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) total $972 million. Fuel tax exemptions amount to $137 million. Income and corporate income tax lost revenues amount to $1.47 billion.

Agriculture was the recipient in 2021 of $506 million in tax breaks that would be paid if not for exemptions.

Agricultural subsidies — crop insurance premiums, income supports, rainy day funds and myriad of grants for everything from marketing grain to digging water

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These support subsidies ensure a secure supply of food, keep our industry competitive with the world where some countries offer more generous subsidies and subsidies support exports of food.

Most of the tax exemptions for agriculture in the 6DVNDWFKHZDQ EXGJHW DUH QRW QHDUO\ DV MXVWL¿HG ,Q IDFW it can be argued they create a rural-urban division most of us couldn’t imagine.

How fair is it that farmers avoid $147 million PST RQ LQVXUDQFH SUHPLXPV"

How does government justify exempting farmers IURP PLOOLRQ 367 RQ IHUWLOL]HU SHVWLFLGH DQG VHHG" 2U PLOOLRQ IRU EHLQJ D IDUPHU" 2U PLOOLRQ 367 RQ IDUP PDFKLQHU\ DQG UHSDLUV"

Once upon a time as the fairy tales go that was jusWL¿DEOH RQ WKH JURXQGV WKDW IDUPLQJ ZDV D KLW DQG PLVV high risk business.

During the last 15 years farm incomes have never been so good. In 1981, 61,000 Saskatchewan farmers averaged about $5,000 cash income according to Statistics Canada In 2021, 32,000 farmers averaged $72,500 cash income — an increase of 1,450 per cent.

Those same farmers averaged $15,800 tax exempWLRQV ² HTXDO WR RQH ¿IWK RI QHW IDUP FDVK LQFRPH

Without those exemptions farmers would be much less wealthy. Certainly some sort of PST level could be attached to these exemptions, or some sort of means test WR H[HPSWLRQV WR HQG WKH GH¿FLW