The BC Liberals’ balanced budget got the support of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
BC Director Jordan Bateman says the move to allow businesses not to pay PST on their hydro bills could be a game-changer.
“This could be very helpful for city halls and school boards…being able to phase the PST on these facilities can result in some savings for taxpayers.”
The change is scheduled to take effect in 2019. In the meantime, the PST on electricity will be cut in half starting in October.
The CTF is also keeping a close eye on the BC Debt.
In 2007, the province’s Liberal party under then-premier Gordon Campbell whittled down the debt to $33.4 billion dollars but could balloon to $77.7 billion by March of 2020.
Bateman believes it’s crucial not to allow the debt to spiral out of control.
“It’s very important not to go too far into debt because it endangers the BC credit rating. If we had a credit rating like Ontario we would be paying twice what we pay now in debt servicing which equates to another two billion dollars per year.”
The provincial debt could grow by a billion dollars every three months until 2020.
Lastly, the CTF was very pleased with the Liberals plan to slash Medical Service Premiums next year.
Bateman believes several factors were at play. “I think it is one-third the MSP system is broken, one-third they found themselves with a pile of money with a number of complaints surrounding cost of living and one-third of the provincial election upcoming.”
The cuts mean a family with two kids making between $45,000 to $120,000 per year will save $900 in taxes.