Permanent small business tax freeze, lower personal income taxes, and education property tax relief all good for affordability, but more will likely be needed to offset tariff impacts
Regina, March 19, 2025 — In response to today’s provincial budget, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) appreciates the Saskatchewan government will permanently hold the small business tax at 1%, lower personal income taxes, and reduce education property tax mill rates to help offset increased property assessment valuations.
CFIB called for stability and predictability in this year’s provincial budget, and to some extent, we saw that given this budget includes no new tax increases for small firms. However, it is concerning that this “balanced” budget does not account for the potential impacts of U.S. – Canada, and Chinese tariffs.
“There is no contingency plan, and no specific measures mentioned that will help offset the significant impacts that trade disputes have had - and will continue to have - on small firms,” said Brianna Solberg, CFIB Director for the prairies and Northern Canada. “Meanwhile, small business owners are telling us they currently face more unpredictability, and more uncertainty than ever before – including during the height of the pandemic.”
“Back in 2020, as a pandemic relief measure, we saw the small business tax rate reduced to 0%, and we may need to see that again,” added Solberg.
CFIB will continue to call on the Saskatchewan government to deliver on other key small business asks, including:
- Eliminating the PST on commercial property insurance to help ease the burden of skyrocketing insurance costs;
- Eliminating the PST on capital expenditures (i.e. machinery and equipment purchases) to help boost capital spending at a time when tariffs threaten to decrease investment; and
- Increasing the small business corporate income tax threshold from $600,000 to $700,000.
“It goes without saying that the ongoing affordability challenges, alongside the constant on-again, off-again tariff threats are exhausting, and very bad for the economy, as they deter investment and hinder long-term business planning,” said Solberg. “Some additional tax relief would help ease the burden of rising costs and hopefully help encourage investment and business growth during these turbulent times.”
For media enquiries or interviews, please contact:
Brianna Solberg
CFIB provincial affairs director
(306)-713-8071
Brianna.Solberg@cfib.ca
About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 97,000 members (4,000 in Saskatchewan) across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca.
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