Manitoba offers 60% tuition rebate to grads
Province short on details in bid to keep grads here
TESSA VANDERHART STAFF
Graduates who stay in Manitoba could get a tax rebate of up to 60 per cent of their tuition over six years starting in 2007, the provincial government announced last week.
More details about the plan will be provided in the coming weeks. It was announced as part of the Nov. 15 Speech from the Throne to open the fifth session of the province’s 38th legislative assembly.
“Our Government is proud to announce this new tax rebate — in combination with our commitment to accessibility, demonstrated through our tuition policy and student assistance program — this is good news for students and for all Manitobans,” minister of advanced education Diane McGifford said in an e-mail statement to the Manitoban.
Her office said that there weren’t any more details available, but to stay tuned as the province continues to roll out the plan.
“The new initiative will help students pay off debt and allow them the opportunity to continue their professional or graduate studies in Manitoba. Furthermore it is designed to encourage graduates to put down roots in Manitoba and establish themselves in the workforce as they receive up to 60 per cent tax rebate on their tuition fees,” McGifford said.
Details yet to be provided include how much the initiative will cost the province, whether international students who emigrate to Canada are included in it, and whether a maximm rebate, or cap, will be set at $10,000, as reported in the Winnipeg Free Press on Nov. 14.
The plan, as reported in the Free Press, was originally modeled closely after a New Brunswick initiative announced last year: it would have rebated tuition by 50 per cent up to $10,000. New Brunswick’s tuition rebate is expected to cost that province $63 million for the province’s more than 17,000 university students, who pay between $3,691 and $5,164 per year for undergraduate tuition. Students who attend university in other provinces but return to New Brunswick after graduation are included in the rebate.
The New Brunswick tuition rebate, which students can claim on their 2007 income taxes, can only be applied to taxes owed. So if a student is eligible for the maximum annual deduction of $2,000 but only owes the province $600 in taxes, the balance can be pushed forward as long as they are eligible for the rebate.
Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce vice-president (policy and communications) Chuck Davidson called the rebate a “bandaid solution.”
“What we see is young people looking for when they graduate, is they’re looking for a city and a community that has good paying jobs, jobs in the areas they want, and jobs that will allow them to advance in those positions as well.
“Instead of these tidbits that will entice a few kids to stay, we’d like to see a strong business climate that will entice them all to stay,” Davidson said.
He added that Manitoba’s tax environment is not competitive in Western Canada. The payroll tax, he said, is a notable disadvantage.
“If you put more money in the pockets of business people, the No. 1 thing they’re going to do is reinvest it in their company, reinvest it in their people, and raise salaries,” Davidson said.
UMSU president Garry Sran said that the rebate plan doesn’t address the concerns of students — tuition fee reductions — or of the university administration — more funding for quality of education.
“It’s not only what’s going to happen with tuition fees, but also what’s going to happen with the operating grant,” Sran said.
“Up-front [Council on Post- Secondary Education] funding from the government would be beneficial not only to students by improving accessibility, but also at the same time, they need to address the issues with university operating grants, and make sure they fund those as well.”
Sran said UMSU is waiting for the specifics of the plan before going beyond calling for up-front grants instead of after-graduation tax deductions.
“The government has done better, and can do better, especially with the tuition fee freeze and 10 per cent rebate.”
