The provincial budget of Manitoba shows that the cut in the provincial sales tax to seven per cent will take effect beginning on July 1 2019.
The Manitoba government says the reduction will save the average single-person household $86 and four-person household $239 in 2019, since it will only be in effect for half of the year. But the province says in a full year it will save the average single-person household $174 and four-person household $488.
Positive reactions to PST reduction were noted. John Graham with the Retail Council of Canada applauded the PST reduction. Jonathan Alward said with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business that small businesses are going to be able to pay their employees more and invest in technology to set them up to grow and succeed in the future.
The other improvements in the 2019 provincial budget also include:
• Chipping away at the deficit, going from a projected deficit of $521 million last year to $360 million for the 2019-20 fiscal year.
• Increasing the Manitoba Film and Video Production Tax Credit from $16 million to $31.5 million;
• Lowering ambulance fees to a maximum of $250;
• Indexing tax brackets to remove another 3,810 people from the tax rolls;
• Investing $2.3 million to target drug-related crime, including meth and gang prevention initiatives;
• Setting aside $20 million for upcoming addictions and mental health agreements with Ottawa;
• Adding 29 new RCMP positions, including 27 officers;
• Implementing new body scanner technology to improve safety in correctional facilities;
• $3.8 million for 35 additional primary care paramedics;
• Increasing funding for renal replacement therapy by $2.4 million;
• Overall health spending is $6.19 billion, a half a percent increase;
• Adding $50 million to the rainy day fund, for a projected balance of $265 million as of March 31, 2020.
