Supporters of all political parties in the Manitoba election support removing education tax from the property tax bill, says a new poll conducted by the Manitoba Real Estate Association (MREA) and CJOB 68.
In fact, more voters agree education taxes should be removed from the property tax bill than can agree on which party or leader should win, the poll shows.
“It’s pretty clear that if we agree on anything, we agree on this issue—education tax on property is an unfair way to support a core service like education,” says MREA CEO Brian Collie.
The poll asked Manitobans four questions related to education tax and the response to each one clearly showed that Manitobans want their political leaders, whoever wins, to reform property tax and find a more equitable way to fund education, Collie says.
When faced with this statement:
• I believe that education taxes should not be included on my property tax bill, but instead should be paid for through other means. – 60 per cent agreed
• Paying for education through property taxes is not fair because many homeowners carry a lot of debt, are elderly or on a fixed income. – 61 per cent agreed
• Manitobans who own cottages should be able to vote in municipal elections in that community because they pay taxes there. – 68 per cent agreed
• All Manitobans should pay education taxes based on their income, not on the value of their property. – 66 per cent agreed
By comparison, the same poll showed that 41 per cent of decided voters will choose the NDP, while 32 per cent will cast a ballot for the Progressive Conservatives. The Liberals have five per cent of the support. The poll of 579 Manitobans was conducted by Viewpoints Research and is accurate within four percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The poll was conducted from Sept 14 to 21.
“This poll shows that education taxes are a key issue that Manitobans want to see action on,” says Doug Chorney, President of Keystone Agricultural Producers. “There is a disproportionate tax base in rural Manitoba and we need to find a solution to ensure education taxes are collected fairly.”
We know Manitobans no longer want the value of their property to determine if they can afford school taxes. Concerned citizens can send a letter to Manitoba politicians to get education tax off the property tax bill at www.letspayfair.com.
