As the province prepares to unveil its budget for the coming year, the finance minister says one thing you can bet on and win ... will be a cut in income taxes. Graham Steele says with the deficit coming down dramatically and the economy improving, such a tax cut would be only right. Canadian Taxpayers Federation Atlantic Director Kevin Lacey commends the minister for realizing South Shore residents and others province-wide pay the highest taxes in the country. He says: "This is a step in the right direction ... the government finally admitting that Nova Scotians pay too much tax and now it sounds like they're going to try and do something about it." The federation says high taxes is one of the biggest problems facing the provincial economy. Lacey says the province has the highest taxes in all of Canada relative to the size of its economy. He says "addressing the problem is going to help jump-start the economy, by taking money out of the hands of government and putting it where it counts, in the hands of the average South Shore resident and others across the province." The budget comes down April 3rd.
The finance minister also says his deficit forecast for the 2011-12 fiscal year has dropped to 261-million dollars from the 365-million he was projecting back in December.
