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Tax cuts should spark more hiring: Canadian Taxpayers Federation

The one rain cloud on the horizon is the continuing growth of the provincial debt.

(CTF) has fought the MSP tax for years, arguing it was unfair, expensive to collect and an unnecessary burden on B.C. taxpayers and small businesses. The B.C. budget means a family with two kids making $45,000 to $120,000 per year will save $900 in taxes.

For a middle-class family, $75 a month is going to be a big help. This is the signature tax cut of Christy Clark’s six years as premier – in fact, it’s the first true, broad-based provincial tax cut we’ve seen since 2007.

Two other tax cuts will help B.C. employers:

•  The small business tax rate will be reduced from 2.5 to two per cent.

• By 2019, businesses will no longer pay Provincial Sales Tax on BC Hydro bills. In the meantime, the PST on electricity will be cut in half on Oct. 1, 2017.

These business tax cuts, coupled with the MSP cut, should spark more hiring in B.C.

The one rain cloud on the horizon is the continuing growth of the provincial debt, which is set to grow by nearly $1 billion every three months until 2020.This continued borrowing and spending needs to be a bigger concern for government.

 

Jordan Bateman, B.C. director

Canadian Taxpayers Federation