One of the things that Manitoba’s NDP government has been trying to do since increasing the PST from 7% to 8% is convince Manitobans that it’s really a small increase in taxes that will not impact Manitoba.
Yet as the numbers begin to roll in on the cost of the increase, it is clear that is not true. In the first month alone of the PST hike, a hike that will at some point be legally challenged since the Bill that authorizes the increase hasn’t even become law, the NDP government has taken $25 million out of the pockets of Manitobans. That is $25 million that Manitobans are not able to spend or invest in our economy or use to help their families.
If you are interested, you can keep track of how much the NDP are taking out of your pockets by going to www.pcmanitoba.com and viewing the PST tax tracker at the top of the page.
One of the reasons that the dollar figure is so high in such a short period of time is because the NDP expanded the PST to so many additional goods and services last year. So while it is a 1 point PST increase on many goods, it’s really an 8 point increase on items like home insurance which never before were subject to the PST. This isn’t even including the increased taxes on gasoline and other things that are more hidden from public scrutiny.
It’s hard to believe that the NDP had not been planning this already last year. First they expanded greatly the items that PST is applied to in last years budget and then they increased the amount of the PST itself in this year’s budget. It’s a double whammy.
And what is the impact of taking $25 million out of the pockets of Manitobans each and every month? Well, don’t ask the NDP because they don’t know because they never bothered to check before they increased the PST. Last week it was confirmed that the NDP never even bothered to conduct an economic impact study on what the effect of an increase to the PST would be on the Manitoba economy. They essentially made the decision blindly without knowing what the long-term negative effect on the Manitoba economy would be.
So as the dollars keep leaving your pockets and keep going to the pockets of the NDP to pay for their spending addiction, we know there will be an impact on the Manitoba economy. But because the NDP never bothered to check what that impact will be it can’t be immediately measured. What can be measured, sadly, is just how much more money all of us are paying in additional PST as a result of NDP mismanagement. $25 million in one month, and that’s just the beginning.
