Morden-Winkler MLA Carrie Hiebert says her new bill will make tax-exempt buys easier for both Manitoba farmers making the purchase and agribusinesses doing the selling.
Hiebert introduced Bill 228, The Retail Sales Tax Amendment Act, on April 16. If enacted, it would give producers a farm identification number to cite when making purchases exempt from the provincial sales tax. This would reduce paperwork and red tape, Hiebert argued in a press release sent out the same day. Currently, famers must fill out separate declaration forms for those purchases at the point of sale.
“The current system is outdated, burdensome and inefficient. Bill 228 streamlines the process and cuts the red tape holding back our producers and ag retailers,” Hiebert said.
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Hiebert likened the proposed system to a GST number and argued that it would ease the administrative load for farmer and retailer alike. The system would require a declaration only once every two years, instead of for every transaction.
She further argued that it would be one bit of efficiency in an increasingly uncertain business environment for farmers, pointing to global trade stresses from Chinese and U.S. tariffs.
“Farmers and retailers asked for this change, and we listened. During harvest, farmers are working long hours and shouldn’t be worried about signing paperwork for every purchase. This bill brings common sense to our tax system,” she said.
Anything that makes life easier for farmers to operate their businesses is a positive step forward, said Colin Hornby, general manager of Keystone Agricultural Producers.
“We support anything that does that. That’s why we’re working with the provincial government on reducing red tape and other regulatory burdens,” Hornby said
KAP is pleased to see the co-operation between political parties to improve things for farmers, he added.
“I think it’s good to see reducing red tape and regulatory burden for producers as a priority for all parties.”
Hornby futher noted that KAP has brought up the issue before.
“In terms of regulatory burden, this is something that we’ve spoken with MLAs from many parties about over the past few months, about initiatives that would reduce regulatory burden and red tape,” he said.
