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August 19, 1999
(Finance)


Tax review aimed at sustainable, affordable tax reductions

Finance Minister Paul Dicks said today that government will take a balanced approach as it works toward tax reductions for all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. These reductions will be affordable and sustainable unlike the tax reductions proposed by the Progressive Conservative Party during the recent election campaign.

"We have given the Advisory Council on the Economy and Technology (ACET) the mandate to review the structure of our tax regime," noted the minister. "While it would be premature to speculate on the extent of tax reductions, I can say that next year all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians will pay less tax, and that those tax reductions will be made in a sustainable manner - one that the growing economy of this province can afford."

The minister was responding to comments by the Leader of the Opposition that government was flip-flopping and simply repeating the PC election platform on tax reductions.

"That is simply not true," noted Minister Dicks. "The PC platform called for drastic cuts that would cost this province in excess of $870 million over five years. While we are the fastest growing economy in the country, cuts of that magnitude are not sustainable. The PCs advocated the elimination of the payroll tax, the provincial portion of HST on utility bills and reducing the personal income tax to the national average over five years."

"It is time to begin to provide a dividend to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, who have fundamentally grown this economy, and the most direct way to do that is through personal income tax reductions," noted the minister. "But those reductions cannot come at a cost of necessary public services. They must be balanced and practical, and that is our goal. We await the results of ACET's consultations before making any comment on how the tax regime might change."

Media contact: Paula Dyke, Communications, (709) 729-0329.

NOTE TO EDITORS:

Minister Dicks will be available to the media at 2:30 p.m. today, August 19, 1999, in the Media Centre, East Block, Confederation Building immediately following the Education news conference.

1999 08 19         1:10 p.m.


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