Taxpayers federation opposes possible new fees to fund Saskatoon arena

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) isn’t happy to hear the latest plans being presented to the City of Saskatoon.

On Wednesday, a city committee will receive a report from law and tax firm KPMG outlining possible ways to increase revenue in order to help fund a downtown arena without hiking up property taxes.

‘The report suggests adding new fees to tourism-related purchases like concert tickets, hotel stays and car rentals.

Gage Haubrich, the federation’s prairie director, said he doesn’t think the proposed fees would benefit anyone.

“They need to realize they’re gambling with taxpayer dollars here,” he said. “Two of the avenues that they have laid out for funding this potential future new arena – a ticket tax and tax-increment financing – sound great if they work out, but if they don’t work out, taxpayers are going to be on the hook for that extra money.”

Haubrich’s concern was also echoed in the report being given to the city.

“Facility fees rely on a sustained attendance rate, and to the extent that the attendance does not meet expectations, the City of Saskatoon may be required to cover shortfalls,” the report reads. “For example, the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on Mosaic Stadium’s financial situation, due to the cancellation of (Saskatchewan Roughriders) games and thus foregoing the revenues raised through the facility fee. Once the games resumed, the facility fee still did not meet its pre-pandemic levels.”

(KPMG)

The proposed fees have a number of other steps to go through before getting a green light from council, but the report said the extra ticket fees could range from as low as $4.50 to as high as $7, and possibly bring in as much as $2.3 million to $3.7 million each year.

Haubrich said he doesn’t feel like the City of Saskatoon should be asking taxpayers for more money at a time when many are already struggling.

“Right now especially, we shouldn’t be discussing any types of new taxes. People are struggling with all types of costs out there, and adding more onto that, it’s something most people can’t afford,” he said.

“If the city does want to go forward with a project like this, they need to be completely transparent about the potential cost to taxpayers.”

Haubrich shared some general advice with members of Saskatoon’s city council.

“If the deal seems too good to be true, it likely is,” he said. “They need to go back to the drawing board.”

The KPMG report can be found here.