Halifax, March 20, 2018 – According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), most small business owners across Nova Scotia will be unaffected in the short-term by today’s budget.
“The good news is the budget is in surplus, however spending and the size of government continues to grow,” said Jordi Morgan, Vice-President, Atlantic for CFIB. “This might be sustainable in the short-term, but unless we start addressing future demographic challenges now, we will be facing serious labour and revenue issues ahead.”
CFIB is pleased several of its recommendations were included in the 2018 budget:
- Balancing the budget;
- Maintaining its commitment to red tape reduction;
- Continuing reduction of debt to GDP ratio;
- Using the tax system to help low income earners rather than increasing the minimum wage.
While CFIB is giving the 2018-19 provincial budget a “B” this budget does little to address the serious issue of the cost of doing business in Nova Scotia.
“Nova Scotia remains one of Canada’s highest taxed jurisdictions. While we applaud the efforts being made to reduce costs through regulatory reform, we need more serious restraint on spending,” added Morgan. “In the not too distant future, we’ll be staring down the barrel of a shrinking labour force, a reduced base for tax revenues and rising cost pressures for small business. We need to see government planning for that eventuality.”
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