The Canadian Taxpayers Federation released its Finance Minister Report Card today, ranking provincial finance ministers on spending, debt and tax relief in the latest provincial budgets.

Prince Edward Island Finance Minister Jill Burridge received an overall grade of C-, the fourth highest in the country.

“Burridge is doing well compared to other provincial finance ministers, but she still has a lot of work to do for taxpayers,” said Devin Drover, CTF Atlantic Director. “It’s great to see Prince Edward Island trim taxes, but it also needs to stop racking up debt and wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on debt interest payments.”

Burridge received the following grades in each category:

Debt: C

• The Prince Edward Island government is increasing the debt by $498 million compared to last year. By the end of the year, the debt will reach $3.6 billion, or about $19,867 per Islander. That’s the fourth lowest in the country.

Debt interest payments: D

• Debt interest payments will cost Islanders $315 million this year, or about $946 per person, the fifth highest in the country.

Spending Increase: F

• The government is spending about 9.1 per cent more this year compared to last year’s budget. That’s the highest increase in the country.

Tax Relief: B+

• The budget also features tax relief, including a 1.8 per cent adjustment to income brackets and a $750 increase to the basic personal amount. That means Islanders can earn more money before having to pay taxes. The budget also reduces the business tax rate and increases the amount of income that small businesses can earn before paying higher taxes.

“The tax relief really helps families and businesses and that makes Islanders more competitive,” Drover said. “But it’s unsustainable and irresponsible to hike spending and debt while the province is already wasting about $946 per person on debt interest payments.”

Overall ranking of provincial finance ministers:

You can find the full report card HERE.