Tax Coalition requests meeting

The six members of the Saskatchewan Education Tax Coalition, which includes the Saskatchewan Real Estate Association, has written the following letter to Premier Calvert to propose a meeting to discuss implementation plans for promised funding for education.

“When your government announced targeted relief for agricultural land in March, you reiterated the commitment to provide that level of funding across all property classes, into the foundation operating grant provided to school divisions, to allow all Saskatchewan property owners to experience property tax relief” the coalition letter says.

“The six Presidents of the coalition associations are writing to ask for a meeting with you later this summer to discuss the plan and timeline for providing 60 per cent of education funding, and therefore property tax relief for all property owners.”

The coalition says there should be a long-term plan to commit significant additional provincial funding to Kindergarten-Grade 12 education, as a result reducing the current education tax burden on property owners. The coalition proposal is for the Saskatchewan government to increase funding for education to at least 60 per cent by 2008.

In addition to SREA, the other members of the Education Tax Coalition are the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce, the Saskatchewan School Boards Association, the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association, and the Provincial Association of Resort Communities of Saskatchewan.

For more information on the issue of property tax reform, got to www.propertytaxreform.ca.