At this morning’s Public Accounts Committee, government officials confirmed a recordbreaking
20 per cent increase in revenue collected from Nova Scotians via personal income taxes this year.

 

At a time when people are struggling to pay their bills, the Houston government is making more money off Nova Scotians than ever before. For over a year, the Nova Scotia Liberal Caucus has been calling on the government to end bracket creep by indexing income tax brackets to inflation – an initiative that would only cost the government $125 million. Currently, Nova Scotia is only one of two provinces that has yet to end bracket creep.

 

“We are in an affordability crisis and people are having to choose between paying their rent or keeping the lights on. Lowering taxes is one of many tools the government has at its disposal to help people get by,” said Public Accounts Committee member Brendan Maguire. “The Houston government can afford to lower taxes and Nova Scotians can’t
afford for them not to.”

Another record set under this government is the number of people experiencing homelessness, which has doubled in the past year. The Houston government has frozen income assistance rates for two years in a row and has failed to provide any meaningful supports to get people out of the cold this winter.

“We’ve called on the Houston government to index income assistance to inflation to support our most vulnerable. Instead, this government has chosen to turn a blind eye to the homelessness crisis and leave people out in the cold,” said Maguire. “Nova Scotians are stepping up to support those experiencing homelessness. Why isn’t the Houston government?”