Gov’t celebrates university tax program weeks before election start

As a freshly graduated accountant, Kyle Bye is always running the numbers.

Bye’s plans to continue to live and work in the province make him eligible for the tuition tax credit available in Saskatchewan.

Since 2009, the Graduate Retention Program has offered post-secondary graduates up to $20,000 in tuition rebates if they live and file their income tax within Saskatchewan.

Thursday’s event was not declared as a campaign event. The writ is expected to drop signaling the provincial election within the next few weeks.

Bye said the rebate that should come with his next income tax return eases some pressure off his bottom line.

“It’s huge really. We spend a lot of years learning how to live off pennies during university,” he said. “To be able to have almost a little bit more of a safety net once you graduate, and know that you can have a little bit of additional tax credit is really helpful.”

Bye said he has heard from other students who are eager to participate in the program after they finish their programs.

“It’s really well known and talked about in the undergrad area,” he said. “A lot of students always tend to make references back to it saying they can’t wait to be a part of it once they graduate.”

In June, Bye graduated from the University of Regina and got a job with a local accounting firm.

He decided to work in Saskatchewan because it’s where he’s from, and close to his family.

Colleen Young, the minister for advanced education, said the retention program has provided $801 million in tax credits to 85,000 students.

“It is a great benefit to them and I think it helps promote students to stay here to get jobs,” she said. “Our economy is growing and needs students, and needs those people with degrees and the skilled labour that is required in order to grow our economy.”

Young adds that some students who got their post-secondary education in other provinces or international students who continue to work and live in Saskatchewan could also be eligible for the tax credit.

Graduates can claim the credit 10 years after their programs wrap up.