Sask. NDP calls on government to remove PST on construction labour
Global News
NDP Leader Carla Beck said Thursday the tax that’s currently in place makes construction projects more expensive and fails to make the province competitive.
The Saskatchewan NDP is calling on the provincial government to remove the provincial sales tax (PST) on construction labour ahead of the return to the legislature Monday.
“Adding the PST to construction labour was a mistake from day one and it’s the epitome of a job-killing tax that stuck our economy in the ditch,” said NDP Highways and Infrastructure Critic Trent Wotherspoon.
The call comes after research from SUMA which shows Saskatchewan municipalities are returning between 24 and 39 per cent of their total municipal revenue sharing grant back to the province in the form of PST on construction projects.
NDP Leader Carla Beck said Thursday the tax that’s currently in place makes construction projects more expensive and fails to make the province competitive.
“One of the things that we hear frequently is that this tax on construction labour delays projects, keeps them from happening, and causes municipalities who have such a disproportionate amount of infrastructure to raise property taxes,” Beck said.
The Sask. NDP also said Saskatchewan has had the worst average annual change in the value of building permits since PST was added to construction labour in 2027.
“The value of Saskatchewan building permits has only grown by 1% over the last five years,” the NDP said in a press release.
In a statement to Global News, the province said municipalities are given 0.75 per cent of one full point of PST from the previous full fiscal year.