The Government of Saskatchewan has introduced amendments to The Income Tax Act, 2000, as it moves to fulfill several of its affordability promises made during the 2024 election campaign.
On Monday, the government announced changes to the fertility treatment tax credit and small/medium enterprise investment tax credits.
Covering 50 per cent of a fertility treatment in the province up to a maximum of $20,000 – the tax credit was one of over a dozen measures promised by the Sask. Party on the campaign trail.
The second includes a 45 per cent non-refundable tax credit for individuals or corporations who invest equity in eligible small and medium-sized businesses in the province.
According to the province, the credit focuses on sectors such as food and beverage manufacturing, as well as machinery and transportation equipment manufacturing.
“These tax credits provide relief for parents trying to grow their families without worrying about the high costs of fertility treatments and create incentives for businesses to invest and scale-up their operations,” Finance Minister Jim Reiter said in a news release.
The Sask. Party presented the 2025-26 budget as prioritizing fiscal responsibility and affordability above all else.
However, not everyone shared the province’s vision – the Canadian Taxpayers Federation among them.
“I think the most important number for taxpayers to know in this budget is $2.4 billion because that’s how much more the government is adding to the debt, saddling taxpayers with the costs of and increasing their costs and hurting them down the line,” the federation’s Prairie Director, Gage Haubrich, told CTV News after the budget was presented on March 19.
“We’re seeing almost a billion dollars in interest payments coming from that increase in debt, and it’s going to cost taxpayers.”