James Beddome said the Green Party would eliminate education property taxes if they form government in the upcoming provincial election.
In a news release, Beddome said Manitoba is the only province in Canada where school boards can tax locally to meet budgetary needs.
“The current system for funding education creates severe inequities, both for students and for property taxpayers,” Beddome said Wednesday. “Greens would bring greater fairness to both the tax system and the education system by funding education from personal and corporate tax revenues.”
The Greens said they would equalize funding made available to divisions for each student, saying it would create a better provincial educational system overall.
“Most homeowners will be better off,” Beddome said.
“Lower-income homeowners living in modestly priced homes may see an increase in costs, but our proposed Guaranteed Annual Income will more than offset those tax increases.”
Beddome added small business wouldn’t see a tax change, but large corporations will see a spike.
