The Saskatchewan government has to repay royalties to the potash industry for the first time in the province’s history.
According to a third-quarter budget update presented by finance minister Rod Gantefoer March 2, the government must refund $204 million the industry has already made.
The government had expected to earn $1.9 billion from the mineral in 2009-10.
Gantefoer said the three potash companies that operate in the province paid 25 percent of their expected royalties in the last quarter of the government’s fiscal 2008-2009. However, because the companies operate on the calendar year, it was actually their first quarter.
“As the year unfolded, it became increasingly obvious that the potash corporations had significantly overpaid what they are likely to have to pay in their calendar year,” he said.
