Regina, March 21, 2017 – Marilyn Braun-Pollon, Vice-President, Prairie & Agri-business for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) will be available tomorrow to provide the small business reaction to the Saskatchewan budget and Federal budget. Braun-Pollon will be available in the rotunda of the Legislative Building immediately following the introduction of the provincial budget speech and the release of the federal budget.
2017 Saskatchewan Budget:
“Given the number of ongoing challenges facing Saskatchewan entrepreneurs, we worry the provincial government may increase taxes and eliminate certain tax exemptions in the 2017 budget, which will further jeopardize our competitiveness,” added Braun-Pollon. “Instead, the government needs to continue to focus on implementing significant spending restraint and clearly outline a plan to get back to balance.”
CFIB’s 2017 pre-budget survey asked entrepreneurs what options the Saskatchewan government should implement to balance the budget; 72% of Saskatchewan small business owners support spending restraint (i.e. reducing the size of government through workforce attrition, freezing government wages, etc). 56% support the province running a modest deficit in 2017-18 with a plan to balance its budget in 2018-19. Only 7% of business owners believe the government should increase provincial taxes to collect additional revenue.