How the 2021-22 Saskatchewan budget affects you

Here are some of the ways the Saskatchewan budget, released Tuesday, could affect people in the province.

Money goes out …

• The government is changing Education Property Tax mill rates for the first time since 2017, a move that’s expected to generate $12 million in revenue.
• In 2021, the mill rates for the various property classes will be 1.36 per cent for agricultural, 4.46 per cent for residential, 6.75 per cent for commercial/industrial, and 9.79 per cent for resource. Those numbers previously were 1.43 per cent for agricultural, 4.12 for residential, 6.27 for commercial/industrial and 9.68 for resource.
• The change will cost residential homeowners on average $18 more a year.

And money comes in

• The previously announced Saskatchewan Home Renovation Tax Credit offers savings of up to $1,155 in a tax credit on home reno expenses incurred between Oct. 1, 2020 and this past Dec. 31.
• The budget features $174.8 million to cover SaskPower’s 10 per cent rebate on customers’ power bills last year, and $285 million for SGI’s Auto Fund Recovery Rebate of, on average, $285 to vehicle owners. Both were announced earlier.
• The Active Families Benefit is being reinstated after being scrapped in 2016, giving eligible families a refundable tax credit of up to $150 per year per child who’s enrolled in sport, recreation and cultural activities.

Charged up

• The government is introducing an annual tax of $150 for every electric vehicle registered in the province, effective Oct. 1. The fee will be collected when the vehicle is registered.
• The fuel tax collected at the pump for gas-powered vehicles goes to the province’s road maintenance. Electric vehicles have contributed to the wear and tear on the roads, but their owners previously didn’t pay anything toward that.

In the air tonight

• A Vapour Products Tax is being implemented of 20 per cent on the price of liquids, products and devices, effective Sept. 1.
• The government also is taxing heat-not-burn tobacco products to the tune of 20.5 cents per stick. Currently, cigarettes are taxed at 27 cents per stick.

Addictions assistance

• After 233 confirmed overdose deaths were recorded in 2020, there’s $458 million in the budget for mental health and addictions programs and services.
• The money will cover youth-focused programs, suicide prevention and an expansion of harm reduction and addictions treatment, with 12 new provincial addiction treatment beds and two pre-treatment beds at the addiction treatment centre in Estevan.

Child’s play

• Child-care funding is increasing to $75.5 million in the budget, which will help create 176 new licensed home-based spaces and 51 new licensed centre spaces in the province.
• The government previously said it was committed to creating 750 new licensed child-care spaces over four years.