Saskatchewan farmers considering irrigation on cropland or entering the game farm business will get a break on fees charged by the province.
The province on Thursday rolled out a list of changes to various fees and charges for the 2010-11 fiscal year across all departments, including irrigation site fees and the game farm license fee.
Effective April 1, the province will eliminate the fees associated with providing services for prospective irrigation sites.
Those will include the $250 fee now charged for site inspection, and a $300 fee for field surveying, installations and design confirmation.
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Also on April 1, the province will eliminate the five-year game farm license fee of $150 and $200 for new applicants. The current $50 penalty for late application, applied to game farm operators, will also be eliminated.
The province also noted that a number of business license fees will be increased starting April 1, including the license fees for auctioneers — currently $125 for five years, plus $625 for an auction sales company license.
Motor dealers will also see a license fee increase. Currently those fees are $625 for five years for a dealership that’s in or up to five km outside a city, or $400 for five years for a rural dealership.
The province didn’t specify how much those fees will increase, but said in a release Thursday that its planned fee, charge and fine changes are “primarily cost-recovery” and are expected to add over $1 million per year to its general revenue fund.
