Tax break program for young skilled trades people in N.S. has low uptake

The Houston government's tax break for young people in the skilled trades has only attracted a fraction of the interest the province estimated it would, according to documents obtained by the NDP through access to information.

When it was launched in June 2022, Premier Tim Houston told reporters he expected 7,500 people would qualify for the tax break and this year his government estimated it would cost the province $21 million in lost revenue.

But according to the information provided to the NDP, as of last month only 1,810 had applied to the More Opportunities for Skilled Trades (MOST) program at a cost of about $4.5 million.

Finance Minister Allan MacMaster was at a loss to explain the lukewarm response to the program the government claimed would "attract and retain youth in industries with labour shortages."

"I'd like to get a better assessment of why," MacMaster told reporters at Province House in Halifax on Friday. "I don't want to, sort of, comment on it unless I know exactly."

Nova Scotians under 30 years old who are working in a skilled trade or apprenticeship, including dozens of film industry-related jobs, are eligible to a rebate worth the tax paid on their first $50,000 dollars in taxable income. Young nurses were added to the list this year.

NDP Leader Claudia Chender called the program a failure.

"The government likes to make announcements, pat themselves on the back and say job well done," said Chender. "In this case the announcement was made, the back pat happened and the job was not well done.

"We still have a huge deficit in skilled trades."

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill suggested the program would be more successful if it wasn't restricted to people under 30. "One of the main issues here is eligibility," said Churchill. "We don't think that you should limit the eligibility based on age."

"Guess what? 30-something years olds consider themselves to be young. There's people in their 30s and 40s who are actually upgrading their skills to be skilled trades workers in this province and they're not eligible for this."

The Liberals plan to introduce legislation next week to eliminate the age restriction and include paramedics in the list of those eligible.

Churchill said the bill will also expand the length of time tradespeople and nurses would continue to receive the rebate.

"Within 10 years of graduating, our bill will allow those folks to be eligible."

Premier Tim Houston rejected the suggestion the program has failed. "The young people that are benefiting from MOST are happy," said Houston. "It's a fantastic program."

"It's working. Nothing's overnight."