Vote Compass: Make corporations pay more tax, many say

Many people in Saskatchewan would be happy to see corporations pay more tax, aCBC's Vote Compass report says.

The latest report from Vote Compass,which isCBC'scitizen engagement application, found that when people were asked "How much tax should corporations pay?" 54 per cent answered more.

Only 8 per cent said companies should pay less tax. Meanwhile, about 36 per cent think current corporation taxation levels are about right.

The remaining 2 per cent said they didn't know.

There's a split in the resultsdepending on whether or not people support the Saskatchewan Party, according toGregoryKerr, research manager for Vox Pop Labs, which created Vote Compass for CBC.

"While a majority 54 per cent of the people of Saskatchewan supporteda higher corporate tax rate, an almost equal percentage 53 per cent of Sask.Party voters say they are happy with the current level," Kerr said.

"This contrasts markedly with support among Green, Liberal and NDP supporters, over 80 per centof whom would like to see corporations pay more.

While a majority 54 per cent of the people of Saskatchewan supporteda higher corporate tax rate, an almost equal percentage 53 per cent of Saskatchewan Party voters say they are happy with the current level. Gregory Kerr,. Vox Pop Labs

The findings are based on 11,829respondents whoparticipated in VoteCompassMarch 7 to30.

The online tool lets people find out where they fit in on the political landscape in relation to the Saskatchewan Party, the New Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and the Green Party.

• Vote Compass: Taxation, film tax credits

It also lets the public weigh in on issues that could come up during the campaign. The economy andhealth care have proven to be the two issues the public caresabout the most.

• Vote Compass: Try out our citizen engagement application

The latest report fromVox Pop Labs asked the public about corporate taxation, about about the film tax credit program and whether cutting taxes would boost the economy.

Do tax cuts create jobs?

Vote Compass presented people with this statement: "Cutting taxes is the best way to create jobs in Saskatchewan."

The overall results were all over the map: 38 per cent said they agree, 36 per cent said they disagreed, 23 per cent were neutral and the rest (3 per cent) said they didn't know.

When examined through a party support filter, however, the results were more polarized.

"Forty-eight per centof Saskatchewan Party supporters indicatedthey believe that tax cuts are the most effective engine of job creation, against only 16 per centof NDP, 23 per centof Green, and 21 per cent ofLiberal supporters," Kerr said.

Finally, Vote Compass asked a question that referenced the old film tax credit program, which the NDP government introduced and the Sask. Party government killed.

Confronted with the statement: "Film production companies should receive special tax breaks in Saskatchewan", 32 per cent disagreed and 48 per cent agreed.

Not surprisingly, Sask. Party supporters were most likely to say (24 per cent)they "strongly disagreed" with the film tax breaks, while New Democrat supporters (with 41 per cent support) that they "strongly agreed" with that statement.

Saskatchewan voters go to the polls on April 4.

About Vote Compass

Developed by a team of social and statistical scientists from Vox Pop Labs, VoteCompass is a civic engagement application offered in Canada exclusively by CBCNews. The findings are based on 11,829respondents who participated in VoteCompass from March 7to March 30, 2016. Unlike online opinion polls, respondentsto Vote Compass are not pre-selected.

Similar to opinion polls, however,the data are a non-random sample from the population and have been weightedin order to approximate a representative sample. Vote Compass data havebeen weighted by geography, gender, age, educational attainment, occupation,and religion to ensure the sample's composition reflects that of the actualpopulation of Saskatchewan according to census data and other populationestimates.