About the Survey
Last month, the Government of Manitoba announced that it was establishing a tax competitiveness working group to review personal and business taxes in Manitoba, with a focus on making our province more competitive. In this month’s MB Pulse Survey, the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce invited business leaders and representatives of Manitoba employers to share their insights on Manitoba’s business climate and taxation framework.
This survey was open to MB Pulse members from November 3 to 10, 2022. A total of 88 surveys were completed.
What We Heard
“I moved to rural Manitoba in 2017 from British Columbia. I found out very quickly that I had to pay 3% more in personal income tax than I had been paying back home. Manitoba is not competitive and struggles to encourage people to live here. If I wasn’t retired and was looking to work in Manitoba, this higher personal tax rate would have been a huge contributing factor in my decision. In fact, I was recruited in the 1990s to work in health care in Manitoba. The personal tax rate in Manitoba at the time was one of the reasons I did not take the job.”
“Of all the Manitoba taxes, the land transfer tax has a high economic cost due to its impact on market activity. Research indicates that this tax can reduce the number of real estate transactions. Alberta and Saskatchewan do not levy a land transfer tax and Manitoba levies amongst the highest rate in Canada. From a social perspective, this tax is highly inequitable, as people who need to move more frequently bear more tax, regardless of their income or wealth.”
“In an age where we can do business literally anywhere, I am actively looking in Alberta. On paper, it is an absolute no brainer to do business there. They welcome business with not only their low tax rates, but the culture is one of entrepreneurialism.”
