On February 5, 2009, Finance Minister, J. Michael Miltenberger, delivered his budget amid economic uncertainty and unprecedented political turmoil.
In anticipation of a decrease in revenues from corporate and personal income taxes, the alternative of increasing the tax rates or introducing new taxes is mentioned. However, it appears that there is no plan to introduce new taxes in the near future as the focus is on ensuring that the Northwest Territories is receiving the best value for each dollar spent. The plan is to make changes to the current tax system to meet the economic, social and environmental objectives without increasing the total amount of the tax collected.
Effective April 1, 2009, the budget proposes that the tobacco tax will increase by an estimated $11.20 a carton and tax on liquor, beer and wine will increase an average of 10 percent. In addition, the property tax rates on mining, oil and gas, and pipeline properties will be raised by 15 percent.
Further details on the Northwest Territories Budget 2009-2010 are available from the Northwest Territories Finance web site at: Finance Home - GNWT Department of Finance.