Wall tells Saskatchewan residents about tax increases in budget to balance budget

BUSINESS

Wall tells Saskatchewan residents about tax increases in budget to balance budget

The Canadian Press Published Monday, March 20, 2017 2:52PM EDT

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall arrives for a meeting of provincial premiers in Whitehorse, Yukon, Thursday, July 21, 2016. (Jonathan Hayward/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

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REGINA -- Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall says there will be tax increases in the provincial budget as part of the government's three-year plan to balance the books.

It's the first time Wall has put a timeline on the governments effort to tackle a $1.2-billion deficit.

Wall says the budget coming on Wednesday will show there were challenging decisions to make, even with a three-year plan.

He says the government didn't expect revenue from natural resources to fall more than $1 billion and stay that low for three years.

The premier says there will be a shift toward consumption taxes -- but away from income taxes -- as the province tries to rely less on resource revenue and toward taxes to help make up the shortfall.

The government is also looking at the education portion of property taxes as well as the provincial sales tax, and wants public-sector wages and benefits cut by 3.5 per cent.