Lower drug costs, lower taxes, incentives to keep young people in Saskatchewan and major new investments in highways and communities were a few of the highlights of the 2007-08 Budget delivered by Finance Minister Andrew Thomson.

“This Budget makes life better for Saskatchewan families, by reducing drug costs, by helping young people start their careers here at home and by investing in highways and infrastructure to help keep the strong economy growing,” Thomson said in handing down the Province’s 14th consecutive balanced budget.

“This Budget makes life better for seniors by reducing the cost of prescription drugs,” Thomson said. “The new $15 Senior’s Drug Plan is the most significant expansion of Medicare in a generation and will make drug therapies more affordable for Saskatchewan’s seniors.”

All seniors 65 years of age and over will pay no more than $15 per prescription for any drug covered by the formulary plan. The new coverage goes into effect on July 1, and will provide an average annual benefit of $400 a year to the 115,000 seniors who are expected to take advantage of the program. Lower-income seniors who currently don’t pay for their drugs will continue not to pay.

The Budget also permits income splitting for seniors for the first time, further benefiting this group. The province will also legislate indexing of income tax benefits to protect the buying power of all taxpayers against inflation.

This builds on tax cuts the Minister announced late last year, including the two-point cut to the Provincial Sales Tax (PST).

The Budget also provides funds to shorten wait times and increase the number of diagnostic procedures and surgeries, and makes significant investments in children’s health. In total, the province will commit a record $3.45 billion to support Medicare this year.

“Helping young people start their careers, right here at home is an important priority for our government,” Thomson said. “The new Graduate Tax Exemption means that new post-secondary graduates will be able to earn $100,000 tax-free just by working here in Saskatchewan for their first five years. This credit is good for young people, and will provide employers with an important new tool to attract graduates to the large numbers of new jobs available in today’s economy.

“This builds on other measures we’ve taken to ensure there are opportunities for our young people here at home – like business tax cuts to encourage businesses to expand and create new jobs, adding more training seats and freezing university tuition for the third year in a row,” Thomson said. “We are making life better for young people to work, study and build their futures.”

The Budget also makes record investments in infrastructure and our communities, with the largest ever budgeted capital program of $534.8 million. This includes a record $127.3 million in revenue sharing for municipalities (a $30 million increase over Budget 2006-07), $58.2 million for municipal infrastructure, and $40 million to sport, culture, and recreation facilities through the Building Communities program.