PST amendment changes were announced last week for multiple items in the agriculture sector, which the province is hoping will make the tax more equitable for the industry.
Some of the items included in the exemption were windbreaker panels, insulators for electrified livestock fences, and certain farm equipment attached to a registered vehicle.
Others were also made exempt retroactively back to 2016 and that included items like water and other liquid storage tanks, adjuvants, portable seed cleaners, and farm tractors.
APAS President Ian Boxall says that he was happy to see those new exemptions.
"I think there were a few there that were put in place to alleviate some of the PST tax burdens when it comes to on-farm grain cleaning but also on some products that would be used in the livestock sector, so I was happy to see that the government gave us those exemptions."
Those exemptions will be a boon to both livestock ranchers and crop growers, in areas that some had felt were experiencing "PST creep".
"It's some panels, some power to pumps, and some fencing stuff. I think it's a benefit," said Boxall, "I guess we'll see at the end of the year just how big of a benefit it is, but I think anytime we can get relief for the tax burden, I think producers will be happy."
In terms of what else could be made PST exempt, Boxall pointed to inputs that have risen drastically as farmers are putting those in the ground.
"I think the costs, this year the cost of inputs, the cost of parts, are where everything's going. Yeah, our commodity prices are good right now, but what happens to all these costs when the commodity prices start to trend back down? I have some concerns about the costs that we are facing this year. When you're talking 3 or four times more for fertilizer and chemical than what we paid last year, at some point, it's going to become unachievable if it continues."
The Ministry of Finance says they will begin discussions about modernizing the agriculture and farming section of PST legislation, to potentially be considered in future budgets.
If those considerations do happen, Boxall says he'll make sure Saskatchewan farmers are heard.
"If they have a consultation on it, we will definitely get our voices heard and make sure our member's concerns are heard at that table of the concerns that they're facing.
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