Two of Nova Scotia’s major political parties are betting big that tax cuts will attract voters, with announcements from the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives in the first week of the campaign.

While there are similarities in the two parties’ proposals, there are also key differences.

PC Leader Tim Houston launched his party’s approach to tax relief a few days before the early elections are called, when he announced plans to reduce HST by one percentage point from next April.

That percentage point would cost the government about $260 million, and Houston said earlier this week it would save citizens about $250 a year.

“This is real money that people can spend on the things that matter most to them,” he told reporters.

The Conservatives also announced that, if re-elected, they would increase the basic personal exemption from provincial income tax from $8,744 to $11,744, although people earning less than $25,000 already benefit of almost this level of exemption due to a change made by Liberal precedent. government.

The change would cost $110 million.

Houston’s party would raise the minimum wage to $16.50 within a year if returned to government. The minimum wage is currently $15.20. The PC leader said raising the minimum wage would not solve all the challenges people face, but is an “investment in people’s dignity.”

“This is how we help workers catch up. In big or small ways, we put money in people’s pockets by helping them earn more at work and keep more of what they earn. ‘They win.’

The Conservatives say their tax measures would save an average of $850 per household. They also recall the measures they took during their first mandate, including indexation of income tax brackets and income support payments to the inflation rate and the introduction of a school meals program as additional measures to help people save money.

The other major tax announcement made by the Conservatives so far during this campaign is the promise to remove tolls on Halifax Harbor bridges. Houston said it would cost about $40 million a year, while saving commuters time and money.

Some experts, however, assert that removing tolls could cause more congestion on bridges instead of reducing it.

When Houston announced plans to cut the HST, he said the province could afford the cut, but not the two percentage point reduction promised by Liberal Leader Zach Churchill in February.

Churchill disagreed then and again on Thursday when he reaffirmed his commitment to cutting the HST and announced new tax reduction measures. He said what Houston is promising amounts to “half measures.”

Along with the HST reduction, the Liberals promise to increase the basic personal exemption to $15,705 and double the adjustment to the basic personal amount for people earning less than $75,000.

These measures, combined with another promise made earlier this week to eliminate the HST on remaining groceries still subject to the tax, would save families an average of $3,000 a year, Churchill said.

“It can cover electric bills, it can help families sign their kids up for hockey or ballet. It will help put more food on the table.”

One criticism of HST cuts — whether by a percentage point or more — is that they do not help the most financially vulnerable people in the province because the reduction benefits people who can afford to spend more money.

Churchill said while there are government programs designed to help Nova Scotia’s poorest people, there is another segment of the population that continues to fall behind.

“There are now working poor in Nova Scotia. There are two-income families who don’t have enough money to put food on the table, who don’t have enough money to pay their bills, who pay some of the highest prices. rents in the country.

Churchill’s promises came at a price.

Liberal documents indicate the HST promise would cost $542.3 million. The basic personal rate increase would cost $348 million and the basic personal adjustment would cost $55 million.

The Liberal leader maintains that the province can afford tax relief if the government respects its own budget. He emphasized the fact that conservatives have spent more than $1 billion a year outside of their own budget during each of their first two years in office. In the last update, they spent almost $450 million outside of their own budget this fiscal year before the election is called.

This vision, however, carries a potential risk.

Although Houston and the Conservatives have indeed enjoyed a windfall during their tenure with record population growth generating record government revenues, recent projections from the Department of Finance suggest that population growth may be slowing. If so, it could mean that the days of favorable revenue surprises that the Conservatives enjoyed won’t be there for the next government.

NDP Leader Claudia Chender has yet to release a tax policy during this campaign, but she has already advocated removing the HST on all grocery items still subject to the harmonized sales tax.

On Thursday, Chender told reporters that the only people for whom an HST reduction would be meaningful are “those who have enough disposable income to buy very expensive things.”

“It’s the most regressive type of tax,” she said.

“The more money you spend, the more you save. That’s why we focus on affordability that helps the people who need it most.

Chender said government needs to operate in a way that lets people know they can afford to buy groceries when they need to and pay rent at the end of each month.

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