If the revenue side of the provincial budget unveiled Wednesday holds up, we could be the only jurisdiction in North America to post a surplus this fiscal year.
It was a good news budget, with more money for the child welfare system, $200 million for the Children's Hospital and increased revenues for towns, cities and rural and northern municipalities.
It's the revenue sharing that concerns me. One of the five percentage points of the PST, or 20 per cent of sales tax revenues will be transferred to local governments. This will be phased in over two years, but the first year transfer is estimated to be $167 million, an increase of $32 million from last year.
This is all well and good, but what about us? Indians pay the PST too, but we don't see any return to our communities. First Nations people were required to pay the PST starting a decade ago. At that time, the Saskatchewan Personal Income Tax Review Commission estimated that applying the PST to purchases made by First Nations people would generate $6.7 million in revenue.
The amount collected from applying the tax has grown steadily since. Because we have a growing population that's entering the workforce in record numbers, the amount of sales tax collected from First Nations people has increased significantly.
First Nations constitute about 12 per cent of Saskatchewan's population today. If we were to receive a rebate in proportion to our population, we would receive about $20 million this year alone, compared to the estimated $167 million that will go to other local governments.
The province can argue that half the First Nations population lives off-reserve and is included in its population figures. So what about the other half of our population that remains on the reserve? This money isn't about individuals; it's about building communities.
The province also can argue there is a tax exemption for First Nations people for purchases made on reserves, but this only accounts for a small amount of purchases by aboriginal people. Maybe you haven't noticed, but there are no Wal-Marts and Giant Tiger stores on reserves. About 90 per cent of our purchasing power is felt off the reserve. Just look at any small town that's survived the rural depopulation, and no doubt there'll be a reserve close by.
This issue crosses party lines. It was the NDP that extended the PST to First Nations people; over the years, successive governments in Regina have collected federal transfers to pay for First Nations health and social services.
According to both the federal and provincial governments, First Nations occupy a grey area when it comes to jurisdiction. According to the BNA Act, which is the legislation that outlines how Canada will be governed, "Indians and lands reserved for Indians" are a federal responsibility. However education, health and social programs are the jurisdiction of the provinces. This lack of clear jurisdiction is all too often used as an excuse to do nothing when it is to one government's advantage. PST revenue sharing appears to be one of these situations.
Our people lose most of their rights when they leave the reserve. Once in the cities, they must pay all the applicable taxes, like any other citizens.
Over the years, there has been a series of complaints and disputes over First Nations' jurisdiction versus provincial jurisdiction. The First Nations maintain that we have all the provincial responsibilities, and can pick and chose the appropriate federal areas we wish to occupy. This tax sharing issue is a separate argument from that of resource revenue sharing, which remains unresolved.
It appears that, once again, we are left on the sidelines even though we participate in the provincial economy and pay the PST. Our communities don't see any direct benefits. The American revolutionary cry was, "No taxation without representation." Ours should be, "No taxation without revenue sharing."
