Minister of Finance, Caroline Wawzonek, issued the following statement today about a potential Northwest Territories sales tax: “I want to confirm that the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is not advancing any initiatives that would see the introduction of a territorial sales tax, “Growing the private sector economy is a key priority for this government, which would not be consistent with the introduction of a sales tax at this time. While a sales tax is one common way that governments raise revenues to fund the delivery of important programs and services, the GNWT believes that the introduction of a sales tax at this time would lead to an increase in the cost of living to NWT residents that would likely offset potential revenue increases and run counter to our efforts to grow the economy, “Members of the Legislative Assembly had asked me to consider ways in which the GNWT may generate own-source revenues.  A variety of options including taxation were discussed during recent public dialogue on the upcoming GNWT budget. While the idea of a sales tax was not deemed to be worth pursuing at this time, the GNWT will continue to examine its revenue and spending options to ensure that we are achieving value for money while continuing to deliver important programs and services to all residents of the Northwest Territories.”