The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The NDP government says its plan to hike the PST to eight per cent will help fund vital infrastructure projects across Manitoba. 'With this legislation, we will ensure that every dollar raised will be a dollar that goes into critical infrastructure,' said Finance Minister Stan Struthers as he unveiled the Manitoba Building and Renewal Plan last week. Struthers said the plan targets 'long-term, predictable funding to Manitoba's critical infrastructure needs like flood protection, new schools, better health centres and municipal roads and provincial highway(s).' The NDP said the higher PST would expire after 10 years. And even after it rises to eight per cent, from the current seven per cent, it will still be the third lowest PST in the country, the province said. Under 1995 legislation, PST increases are to be implemented only if approved by a majority of Manitobans in a referendum. But the NDP is set to do away with that law so it can hike the tax unilaterally, a move Struthers defends. 'In a time of economic uncertainty, we can't afford to lose an entire construction season and we need to take the earliest opportunity to protect people from floods,' he said. _ With files from a Government of Manitoba news release
