On February 1, 2017, the Honourable Robert C. McLeod, Minister of Finance, presented the fiscal 2017 – 2018 Northwest Territories budget. This year’s budget aims to lead the territory to a prosperous future through a sustainable fiscal foundation.
While no new taxes were included in this budget, the Minister announced an increase to tobacco taxes, which will become 30.4 cents per cigarette and 27.2 cents per gram of loose tobacco, effective April 1, 2017.
Minister McLeod also provided a glimpse into the future as it relates to new taxes being introduced in the 2018 budget. The territory has committed to studying the introduction of a price on carbon of $10 per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions in 2018-2019 as they have signed on to the Pan-Canadian Climate Change Framework. Therefore, a carbon tax will likely be introduced in next year’s budget, although much work is required to ensure the introduction of a carbon price does not add to the high cost of living and doing business that already exists in the Northwest Territories. In addition, the Department is exploring the introduction of a sugary drink tax. This new measure will be aimed at combating obesity and diabetes in the territory, which is often connected with the consumption of these drinks.
Additional information on the 2017 – 2018 Northwest Territories budget is available on the Northwest Territories Department of Finance web site at:
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