Keystone Agricultural Producers is welcoming the announcement by the PC Party of Manitoba, saying they will remove education tax from property taxes.
President Bill Campbell says it’s a positive step for Manitoba farmers, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of quality education training or unforeseen market variabilities.
KAP has outlined equitable education funding a key priority in lobbying effort for the provincial election campaign.
The PC Party of Manitoba has committed to removing the education tax from property taxes over ten years starting in 2022.
While KAP says this a positive step for producers, they pointed out that means farmers will continue to pay more than their fair share of education funding for up to 12 years. KAP adds that a ten-year shift in education funding could mean that a future provincial government could kibosh the decision, given the lengthy timeline and an unforeseen number of financial pressures that could be in play.
KAP argues that the current education funding rate in the province isn’t equitable. Local school boards are allowed to set the mill rate, which makes per-student funding vary due to differences in divisional property taxes. Campbell says that means students in divisions with higher property values have access to more funding and more opportunities than students in divisions with lower property values.
Manitoba is the last province to allow local school boards to set the local education tax rate.
