REGINA: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is calling on the provincial government to scrap a recommendation to increase the provincial sales tax in order to offset school tax reductions.

The province's Commission on K-12 School Financing today released its report recommending significant reductions in onerous school taxes on property. To offset the additional expenditure from the General Revenue Fund, the Commission recommends a one cent hike in the provincial sales tax.

"The government must reduce school taxes, and congratulations to the Commission for recognizing that," said CTF Saskatchewan Director David MacLean. "However, the province must reduce school taxes without any offsetting tax increases."

"The province has increased spending by 40 per cent since 1997, while education spending has only increased by 15 per cent," added MacLean. "The government has financed their pet projects and padded union salaries on the backs of property taxpayers - and it's time to right that wrong."

Reform the way schools are funded in Saskatchewan
The CTF's proposal to the Commission contained several recommendations aimed at reducing property taxes, maintaining local autonomy, and preserving government funding of core program areas such as health, education, agriculture and infrastructure.

The CTF recommended:

75 per cent of school funding should come from general revenues, and 25 per cent from local property tax payers.

Schools should be funded on a per-pupil basis, to efficiently allocate resources to address population changes.

Reduce school taxes on property by $350 million by reallocating spending from non-core areas.

"For years the province has funded education on the backs of property taxpayers," added MacLean. "We can afford to reduce school taxes without raising the PST, all we lack is the political will to do it."