Halifax, March 26, 2019 – Today, Finance Minister Karen Casey tabled the 2019-20 Nova Scotia provincial budget however small business owners will find little attention paid to their key concerns.
According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), small business owners across Nova Scotia will be disappointed the provincial government is ignoring the tax and regulatory burden imposed on employers. Nova Scotia’s small businesses will continue to be shackled by some of the highest taxes in the country and the ongoing focus on boutique “investments” will do very little to create a more competitive environment.
“While we’re pleased to see the budget balanced, the provincial government is missing the opportunity to provide meaningful relief for small business owners struggling to stay above water who are now being hit with an onslaught of increasing costs from the federal government,” said Jordi Morgan, vice president, Atlantic. “What this budget is delivering is $137 million in narrow program spending under the heading of “Creating the Conditions for Economic Growth”. Our members won’t see it that way.”
As spending continues to increase, the net debt crept up from 15.1 to 15.3 billion. The pace of spending increases is near 4%, essentially double the rate of inflation. Additionally, there was no mention in the budget of new red tape reduction targets or support for labour shortages.
“Small businesses told us loud and clear they needed to see support for labour shortages in this budget,” said Kate Allen, policy analyst, Nova Scotia, “However, this budget did nothing in this key area. One-in-five business owners in Nova Scotia are cancelling plans to grow as a direct result of labour gaps. This budget will do nothing to change those business owners’ minds.”
CFIB is giving the 2019/2020 provincial budget a “B minus”.
To arrange an interview with Jordi Morgan or Kate Allen, please contact Ryan Richard at 902-420-1997 or ryan.richard@cfib.ca
CFIB is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 110,000 national members, including 5,200 members in Nova Scotia, across every sector and region.
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