Anxious farmers got no reassurance that subsidies they receive — including tax breaks for farm fuel purchases — will be continued after the provincial budget comes down next week.
“We’re forced to consider everything in this budget, and that’s one of the things that’s been considered,” Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart told delegates Wednesday at the annual Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities’ (SARM) convention in Saskatoon.
“As for tax change and tax cuts, you’ll have to wait ’til March 22.”
Stewart was responding to a question posed by a delegate from the RM of Weyburn, who said now is not a good time for the government to entertain the idea of reducing tax breaks for farmers.
“Coupled with rising commodity prices and this impending carbon tax, we could see a significant change to what we as producers and farmers and ranchers are paying for fuel,” the man said during a 90-minute “bear pit” session Wednesday morning as cabinet ministers fielded an array of questions from SARM delegates.
Source : Leaderpost