COLUMN: Report from the Legislature – Wab Kinew is raising your taxes again

With tax season fast approaching, Manitobans are about to see their tax bills go up—again.

Under this failed NDP Government, a middle-class family earning $75,000 now pays more in provincial taxes than the same family in Regina, Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, or Vancouver.

The reason? The NDP’s decision to quietly end inflation indexation on income-tax brackets.

Until now, the amount of money you could earn before paying income tax went up a bit each year to keep pace with the rate of inflation.

With their 2025 budget, the NDP government stopped indexing income tax brackets to inflation. That means inflation can now automatically bump taxpayers into a higher tax bracket and increase their tax bill.

This cost to taxpayers will increase every year.

This backdoor tax grab will cost Manitobans an additional $82 million in taxes for 2025 alone.

The average Manitoban/Canadian already spends more on government taxes (approx. 42 percent of their income) than on the basic necessities of life (35.5 percent on food, clothing, and shelter).

Fifty percent of Manitobans are already $200 a month or less away from not being able to pay their bills and service their debt.

We have an affordability crisis.

As usual, with affordability concerns—as with so many others—we have a premier who says one thing and does another.

How can this premier expect Manitobans to take him seriously when he talks about affordability when he always has his hand in their pocket?

Wab Kinew likes to talk a big game, but actions speak louder than words.

Anyone who has been to a grocery store recently can tell you the obvious: things are worse under Wab.

The cost of living just keeps going up and families are struggling to make ends meet.

Which brings us back to taxes.

The only cost over which the government has 100 percent control is the taxes you pay. Therefore, the government could choose to lower taxes (income taxes, property taxes, the PST) to help Manitobans weather the cost of living crunch. Instead, they have done the exact opposite.

The NDP promised Manitobans no new taxes, but after just two short years in office, provincial taxes are up a whopping 19.5 percent.

At a time when grocery prices are a chief concern for Manitobans, Wab raised taxes on grocery stores by 10 percent.

The NDP raised property taxes on thousands of Manitobans by scrapping the 50 percent provincial property tax rebate and $350 education tax credit brought in by our former PC government, in favour of a flat $1,500 credit.

Now, they are raising your income taxes by cutting indexing.

Manitoba taxpayers cannot afford another four years of Wab Kinew and the NDP.

Manitoba’s PC Party has a proven track record of cutting taxes for Manitobans.

We lowered the PST twice during the seven years we were in government; first to seven percent then to six percent, saving Manitoban taxpayers some $650 million a year.

We bought in the 50 percent provincial property tax rebate and $350 education tax credit.

We also cut regulations, bringing lower costs for entrepreneurs, business owners, and farmers.

We did it then, we can do it again.

Only PC’s are fighting for real affordability for your family.

I’m proud to run under the PC banner and I am excited to be one of the first PC MLAs nominated to run in next year’s general election.

I am pleased to be hosting PC Leader Obby Khan in our riding on Feb. 21 to kick off my re-election effort and share our positive, common-sense PC vision to make life more affordable for you and your family. Come on by the La Broquerie Hotel on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. to meet Obby Kahn and myself. Those who wish to RSVP for the bud, spud and steak to follow can buy tickets by contacting my office at 204-434-6736 or info@konradnarth.ca.

Together, we’re standing up to the NDP and calling for relief for overworked, overtaxed, Manitobans. To do that I need your support. Let’s build that momentum together.