A Moment with the Mayor: Different taxes

It’s that time of year when many of us are completing our annual federal tax returns, and depending on when this gets published, the deadline of April 30, 2024, to submit your 2023 tax return may have already passed. Income taxes are one of the many we have to deal with in our daily lives. For some who work for themselves or have their own business, you may have a different date for filing your return. Anyone who receives a T4 from their employer must gather up documents and file a return, even if it is to say that they didn’t earn anything at all.

The federal and provincial income tax return has grown in complexity over the last number of years. I filed my first income tax return back in the early 80s. We have seen the development of computer programs to assist individuals with their tax returns and growth in the tax preparation and accounting industry to help meet the needs of individuals and companies in filing tax returns and forms. Each tax return calculates the federal and provincial taxes owed, as each province’s taxes are calculated as part of the overall return. Federally, the government taxes us through income tax but also through carbon pricing (commonly referred to as carbon tax), various fuel taxes, and Goods and Services Tax (GST), to name a few. Additionally, the federal government has user fees for licenses, passport applications and other services they provide.

On the provincial side of the equation, each province collects income tax when you file your income tax return, as noted above. Other taxes collected by provinces include Saskatchewan’s 6% provincial sales tax; Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, has a number of exemptions within the city limits due to Saskatchewan legislation. Provinces and the federal government collect taxes on alcohol and tobacco sales and fees for various services, licenses and registrations for individuals and businesses.

I would be remiss if I didn’t discuss city property taxes for residential and non-residential properties in our city. The City of Lloydminster collects user fees for recreation and culture facilities, landfill usage, planning, construction, permits and other fees. A separate portion of the tax bill is an Education Tax that the City of Lloydminster collects on behalf of the school board. This money flows directly to the public or separate school boards to provide education for our youth.

The most interesting part of this whole process is that municipalities (our city) collect between 8-10 cents of every tax dollar paid in Canada, while we maintain over 60% of the total infrastructure in Canada. The challenge of funding future infrastructure projects will require all three levels of government to be active partners, or we will need to change the methodology of taxation across Canada. Stay tuned as this last conversation starts to evolve in Canada.

Mayor Gerald S. Aalbers
City of Lloydminster