Op-Ed: Hidden vehicle taxes frustrate SK residents; calls for reform.

- By Pete Foster

Submitted December 26, 2025

Peters key points from this rant:

• Peter says Insurance premiums increased by $173
• Peter says Government takes $96 insurance tax
• Peter calls tax unfair and largely hidden
• Peter says vehicle sales tax repeated multiple times
• Peter criticizes provincial double taxation policy
• Peter says urges government to ease middle-class taxes

I renewed my house insurance the other day and duly noted the cost had risen by $173 from last year. So I inquired as to just why, and was informed that the replacement cost of everything had risen, and the increase in premiums mirrored those costs! Well, fine, I guess. But the thing that really frosted my oats was the $96 I had to pay the Saskatchewan government. For insurance tax!

Now I know it was just $96, which is nothing these days, but it felt like I was being punished for having the good sense and the means to insure my home and belongings! Worst part is it’s a hidden tax, and I am sure there would be a lot of blowback if people just knew about it. Consider yourself informed, dear readers!

As you get older, you start to think that in my 69 years of existing on this 3rd rock from the sun, I have paid more than my share of taxes! In fact, when I purchase a new or used vehicle these days, the first thing I tell the salesman is calculate the cost of the sales tax from the list price of the vehicle, and I will cut you a cheque. And they usually go for it!

Now, when you purchase a new vehicle, you pay both GST and PST on the list price, which totals 11%; you pay only PST on that vehicle after. But consider this for a moment, if you would! That vehicle may change hands four or five times in its lifespan. So in essence, you are paying tax, on tax, on tax, on tax, on tax, on tax, until that vehicle's value falls beneath the 5000 dollar threshold, where provincial sales tax is no longer applicable. And how much of a vehicle do you get any more for under $5000?

Now this odious tax has been a political football for some time, as it has been removed and reinstated several times as a revenue source when political regimes change! But if the current political party is serious about giving middle-class citizens a break on taxes. Well, here are illustrated two classic examples of ridiculous taxation, where they could start!