The Atlantic Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation says New Brunswick taxpayers should be concerned about the recent State of the Province address.
Kevin Lacey says there was nothing new of substance in Premier Brian Gallant’s speech, but several things were noticeably absent.
“I was expecting the Premier to begin laying out what we’re going to see in the next provincial budget,” says Lacey. “We didn’t get any clear indication of where the Premier is heading with regards to the economy which is the single biggest issue that the government faces.”
Lacey says one of the biggest threats to the New Brunswick economy is our ability to compete with the United States.
“But one of the competitive issues we face, is that New Brunswick over the last few years is becoming less competitive with regards to our taxes,” says Lacey. “Taxpayers have been shelling out a whole heck of a lot more out of their pocket in increased taxes, and in the United States that is going to put us at a competitive disadvantage.”
Lacey says the continued reduction in the small business tax (to 2.5% by 2018) is a drop in the bucket compared to increases in other areas.
