Regina, March 13, 2024 - On behalf of over 4,000 small businesses in Saskatchewan, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is calling on the province to help small firms address skyrocketing business costs and reduce the tax burden in the upcoming 2024-25 budget.
In response to a recent CFIB survey, Saskatchewan small business owners indicated their biggest challenge heading into 2024 is the increased costs they’re facing. Couple those increased costs with decreased revenues and heavy debt loads, and it’s not hard to imagine why 17% of Saskatchewan small businesses are actively considering closure.
Small business owners also indicate that government-imposed taxes/fees and persistent labour shortages are contributing to their struggles. Many owners have been forced to work longer hours and take on staggering debt loads just to stay open. With these challenges in mind, the Saskatchewan government needs to ensure business owners are not burdened with additional cost pressures at this time.
“The provincial government can show small business owners it recognizes the struggles they’re facing by providing affordability relief, such as reducing the small business corporate income tax rate back to 0 per cent, or at least freezing it at one per cent until more businesses have had the chance to recover,” said Brianna Solberg, CFIB director of provincial affairs.
CFIB has recently met with Saskatchewan’s finance minister to share recommendations as to how the provincial government can support small business recovery in Budget 2024-25. In addition to freezing the small business tax rate, some other recommendations include:
- Removing the PST on dine-in restaurant meals and/or property insurance;
- Avoiding any PST expansions;
- Introducing a securing small business rebate program (ex. BC) to provide small businesses with access to funding to support increased costs due to crime and vandalism; and
- Legislating the Worker’s Compensation Board’s surplus refund policy - requiring the Board to refund 100% of its annual surplus to employers.
These actions would go a long way to help Saskatchewan business owners deal with rising costs — especially as many are still struggling to pay back their pandemic-related debt.
The federal CEBA loans that helped many business owners survive the pandemic were due on Jan. 18, 2024. Yet, about 25 per cent of businesses missed this repayment deadline — a percentage representing approximately 7,200 small businesses in Saskatchewan that are still in debt.
“This year’s budget provides an opportunity for the Saskatchewan government to help businesses weather the storm by avoiding the introduction of any new taxes or cost increases and working to reduce costs for small businesses wherever possible. The situation for many small firms is becoming increasingly dire and they need affordability relief now before it’s too late,” concluded Solberg.
Click here to view CFIB’s pre-budget submission.
For media enquiries or interviews, please contact:
Brianna Solberg
CFIB provincial affairs director
(306)-713-8071
Brianna.Solberg@cfib.ca
About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 97,000 members (4,000 in Saskatchewan) across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca.
Print Article
Share Article
