NB Budget '08: We didn't get our money back
All together now: Spend, spend, spend
Well, it's a sad day all around for New Brunswick taxpayers as the Finance Minister's so-called "Luck of the Irish Budget" held the line on the '07 tax increases while spending for the province increased again on health care (well above the rate of inflation), education and every other social aspect:
- an increase of 5.4 per cent, to $2.2 billion, for the Department of Health;
- an increase of 7.2 per cent, to $941.6 million, for the Department of Education;
- an increase of 3.4 per cent, to $910.4 million, for the Department of Social Development, including:
- $2.4 million to hire 43 new social workers;
- $5 million to increase nursing-home care to 3.1 hours per day;
- $5.7 million for early learning and child care
It definitely would have been refreshing to see the finance minister sticks to his commitments of no new spending in the 2008 budget. No such luck.
Anyway, I'm about to step out so I will have more on this tomorrow. But to quickly sum up my feelings on this budget in four words: extremely bad for taxpayers. What do you guys think? Does this budget, or last yrs, set us on the proper course to future prosperity?
Update: No tax increases [says Boudreau] not quite accurate
NB Power reported a healthy profit of $85 million last year. Let's just say, this unexpected windfall came on the backs of ordinary rate payers due to consecutive rate-hikes over the past two years.
Furthermore, even though they made a profit last year, they were somehow just approved for another 5.9% increase? Now I understand that a crown corporation's raison d'être should be to remain competitive with the intent of balancing their books, but when they report a significant profit, the additional rate hikes, like the ones that were recently approved, amount to nothing more then another unfair tax on NBers. The Liberals made a point of saying there were no tax increases in Budget '08. Nothing could be further from the truth as NBers are still being gouged with a 6% hidden tax increase.
Related: Health gets financial boost, Education gets 7.2 per cent spending boost and Debt rises in New Brunswick's budget.
12 Comments:
Wow, I just read your story below on Ireland, and I have to say, New Brunswick's 2008 budget seems to be following the French-German social model which promotes high unemployment and low growth.
what more do you expect from a tax and spend liberal?
bill: very true. And what's even more frustrating is that Boudreau and Premier Graham have painted themselves and their party, in the media and on Bay street, as potential tax cutters. This is a sham as their only economic policy to boot is tax increases on personal and business NB taxpayers.
anon: I expect a budget that will set the true course for economic success. A budget based on the three strong pillars of lower taxes, debt relief and smaller government. We've had none of the above since Boudreau's been finance minister.
That's right, the Premier recently told the Economic Club in Toronto that: "We have embarked on an aggressive review of our taxation system; we have brought in some of the leading experts from around the world. We’re going to be launching a discussion with New Brunswickers on how our taxation system can be more competitive."
Funny the premier had to hire a $100 dollars per hour tax consultant specialist (with our money) when the solution is simple, stop increasing taxes and start cutting them. Duh?
This government is looking for ways to shift some of the tax burden around, and quite frankly they are running out of time in this mandate to do it. As you mention The report is due in 2009, and I don't think they will be monkeying around with the taxation system that close to elections.
In your post of March 12, NBT, on Betts you mentioned that NB was the only Maritime jurisdiction that did not have the 3 % cap on property taxes.
I suspect the local governance review undertaken by Jean-Guy Finn,Commissioner to Examine Co-operation, Taxation and Local Government Funding would be the reason for that.The commission has been extremely low key, and governments since Frank McKenna have been trying to get more taxes out of rural New Brunswick. I suspect they won't cap property tax because it would hogtie what the commission is doing.
These Liberals are really quite taxing....bad pun intended.
Is there anything more that these guys can tax?
No doubt, Paul. Although, doesn't this strategy (to study the tax system) interfere with their plan, in that, the first year was about studies and the next few would be about action. Ummm...
anon: they haven't taxed this blog...yet?
"43 new social workers"
Getting them used to the police state even earlier, eh?
More like the "nanny state" LOL!
I simply cannot fathom how this supports self sufficiency? What company, business, individual or ex-pat is going to relocate to New Brunswick when there are simply no incentives to do so. The Maritime quality of life just won't cut it when almost every daily cost is higher or at best on par with every other place to live in Canada -including energy costs, fuel costs, gasoline costs, goods and services, grocery costs, property tax, income tax, HST, transportation cost (both monetary and time - usually wasted waiting for Air Canada to actually send a plane to Fredericton!)
And here we have the Provincial government spending money like a drunken sailor (an unfair comparison since a drunken sailor spends his own money)
Almost two years in office and the only tangible result that the average New Brunswicker can point to is that they has less money in their wallets.
How many studies? How many reports?
and where are the results? How many broken promises from the 230 (?) they made to get elected?? Just what have then been doing?
This cannot be the way to self sufficiency and growth.
I see the headline in the TJ was "Bills must be paid". Huh? they must be paid because of the spend-thrift ways of this government.
Kit: great points. It's sad to see a government that came in with such high hopes for the economy struggle with such simple policy decisions.
Furthermore, I think NBers (on a whole) would appreciate their decisions much more if they knew they were hard ones made by ministers instead of high paid unelected consultants.
anon: that's right, the bills are made by those that spend the money. So I don't buy Boudreau's excuse.
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