Nova Scotia 2016 budget: take care of the small things

Budget season prompts us to reflect on basic economic questions. A good life rule is: don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

In public finances, balance is a sign of good management when the objective is a stronger economy and job creation.

The same economic wisdom also teaches there are no silver bullets. This cannot be repeated enough in Atlantic Canada. No single project or government program will miraculously rescue the region from its depressed economic waters.

For the sake of waiting for the next big solution or project to arrive, governments often pass up on smaller opportunities for needed fiscal reforms. The effect of small but bad policy decisions has a high cost.

For instance, continuous but haphazard tax increases keep hurting us. They seem small until you add them up.

In Nova Scotia’s Shameful Tax Facts, the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses reveals our province to be one of the most uncompetitive jurisdictions in the country. The provincial income tax is the secon…