RICETON, Sask. – Saskatchewan Party leader Elwin Hermanson says he is acting on the recommendation of the government’s own advisory committee when he pledges to reduce education tax on farmland.
Hermanson chose Don and Lenore Schmeling’s farm near Riceton to highlight his party’s campaign promise to reduce the tax by 15 percent over four years.
The Schmelings pay more than $11,000 in property tax on their farm; the education portion is between $7,000 and $8,000.
“It’s out of balance,” Hermanson said.
He said the Saskatchewan Party proposal would save farmers $150 for every $1,000 in education property tax paid, which would help them cope with low prices and high input costs.
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Schmeling said that would save him about $1,100 per year, an amount he described as “not a small sum.”
On the other hand, he said he doesn’t like spendthrift governments and he’s willing to forego the cut if necessary.
“If it comes to a matter of balancing the budget or having a personal tax cut, the government should balance the budget,” he said.
Alleviating the burden of education tax on farmland was one of the recommendations made by the Action Committee on the Rural Economy in its final report to the government last year.
The government earlier this year appointed a commission to study how Kindergarten to Grade 12 education is financed. Rural and urban residents have told the commission that they want the system changed.
An invitational symposium on the issue, scheduled by the commission for next week, has been cancelled.
The New Democrats are promising to use the commission to help it “rebalance” the way education is funded. However, the party platform contains no specific plan for how that would be done.
Right now the government contributes about 40 percent of K-12 funding, with property tax providing the other 60 percent.
The Liberals have promised the biggest cut, saying they will, over 10 years, reduce the amount that property owners pay to 30 percent of the total.
Leader David Karwacki said making the change over 10 years is manageable. It’s a cut of about $25 million per year and makes up the bulk of the $500 million price tag for the Liberal commitments in this campaign.
The Saskatchewan Party plan would cost $25 million by the fourth year.
