September 7, 2016

For Immediate Release

Liberals Overtaxed People and Businesses in Spring; In Fall, Premier and Finance Minister Offside on Fiscal Policy

Keith Hutchings, Finance Critic for the Official Opposition, said people are shocked to hear Premier Dwight Ball say he will bring down a ‘fiscal update’ at the end of October. “After raising fees and over taxing Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in the Liberal Budget of 2016, the Premier and Finance minister have consistently said ‘revenue generation in the spring, cost reduction in the fall’. Today demonstrates that, after nine months in office, a clear direction on fiscal policy from the Ball administration is amazingly absent.”

In Budget 2016, the Minister Bennett stated: “Immediately following the announcement of Budget 2016, our government will continue the planning process for our supplemental budget later this year when we will announce more actions identified through the Government Renewal Initiative.”

Hutchings said, "In the spring, the Liberals placed the financial burden on people. They introduced lazy measures which taxed people and businesses to death to make up for lost oil revenue, and promised an attrition plan and other measures to reduce spending and the need for high taxes. The Liberals have not even been able to effectively implement the previous administration’s attrition plan, which was part of our long-term strategy to achieve fiscal balance.”

“Clearly, the Liberals don’t have a plan, and continue their pattern of saying one thing, and doing another. Dwight Ball and his Liberal cabinet have demonstrated no ability to govern, and to make decisions which will help our province get back on financial track.”

“Instead of finding a way to cut taxes back to reasonable and competitive levels, the Liberals have been reversing Budget 2016 measures that they supposedly consulted with Newfoundlanders and Labradorians on. These included a reduction of the Liberal levy and reversals of library closures, court cuts and some of the health cuts while they have left other harsh and regressive decisions in place. They have not yet accounted for the impact of their flip-flopping on the province’s bottom line,” said Hutchings.

“The bond-rating agencies warned the Ball government that there would be consequences for not following through on a comprehensive, balanced approach in dealing with both sides of the ledger,” said Hutchings. “The Liberals have caused hardship without producing a plan to reduce government spending – in other words, all the pain without any of the gain. And now they’re adding to the pain by extending the period of uncertainty. Minister Bennett has a responsibility to tell people why they have changed direction yet again on the delivery of a fall budget – a budget which was meant to lay out the Liberal plan to reduce spending.”

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Media Contact: Heather MacLean, Director of Communications, Office of the Official Opposition

(709) 729 6105, heathermaclean@gov.nl.ca