NDP Force Through Tax Hikes Without Debate or Scrutiny at Public Committee

WINNIPEG — After failing to call their budget bills for seven months, the NDP government waited until the last day of the fall session to rush through Wab Kinew’s tax hikes on Manitobans without any debate or any input from the public.

“The NDP don’t care what Manitobans think. They don’t care about transparency or accountability,” said Midland MLA Lauren Stone, PC Critic for Finance. “Instead, the NDP are sneaking in tax hikes in their budget bill at the last minute on the last night of this session without any opportunity for debate or public scrutiny.”

The NDP’s budget bill will eliminate the indexation of income tax brackets and the Basic Personal Amount, which means every year, Manitobans will face bracket creep as inflation eats away at their income. The tax brackets will impact more and more Manitoba workers who are just scraping by under this sluggish NDP economy. Progressive Conservatives removed more than 70,000 low-income-earning Manitobans from the tax rolls entirely by indexing the BPA annually from 2016 through 2024.

That is not the only tax increase in this budget. The NDP are adding taxes to cloud-based services, including data storage, website hosting, and subscription-based software such as office suites, design tools, and video-game subscriptions. This will be detrimental to small businesses and all Manitoba consumers who will now pay more for their software and subscriptions.

The NDP’s school tax scheme has raised education property taxes on tens of thousands of Manitoba homeowners, collecting nearly $350 million more in taxes from Manitoba families, seniors, and workers.

“The NDP have raised taxes on small business owners, cottage owners, doctors, and skilled professionals,” said Stone, “Altogether, the NDP are adding over $400 million in higher taxes on Manitobans. That is more than the amount of Greg Selinger’s PST hike to 8%.”

School taxes have gone up by as much as 30% in some school divisions, while some property owners are being taxed without having a vote for the school board representatives implementing these NDP tax increases.

All of these budget changes have been rushed through the Legislature by the Kinew NDP without a shred of transparency or public input. There has been no debate on either of their budget bills.

“Wab Kinew has broken the promise he made to Manitobans just over two years ago not to raise their taxes,” said Obby Khan, Leader of the Official Opposition. “Kinew’s broken promises are piling up as he makes affordability, healthcare, and crime worse. He’s even proposing a decade or more of hydro rate increases. Manitoba families can’t afford this NDP government.”

The Official Opposition voted against the NDP’s tax increases and out-of-control spending, but were denied any debate on the budget bills. The second session of the 43rd Legislature ended on Nov. 6th.

Prior to Kinew’s costly overhaul, Manitobans saw tax savings well into 2024 via PC affordability measures, including up to $1,399 in savings for Manitoba families.

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For media inquiries, please contact PCCaucus_Media@leg.gov.mb.ca

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