Sometimes the new government in Victoria is a little hard to figure out.
Four months ago they put out a press release announcing a one year rate freeze on electricity rates to fulfill one of the NDP’s key campaign promises.
But last week the B.C. Utilities Commission – our province’s independent energy regulator – shot down the idea and announced a three per cent rate hike effective April 1st.
You would think a government would have enough sense to line up all their ducks in a row before suffering public embarrassment by issuing false announcements. It’s like they are in such a rush to paint the province in their own image that the government is leaving common sense behind. We are witnessing this again with the roll-out of the new payroll tax that blindsided the business community when it was announced in this year’s provincial budget. Most employers who pay MSP on behalf of their employees were looking forward to a $1 billion tax break when a 50 per cent rate cut was announced by the previous Liberal government in the 2017 Budget. But when the new government saw a billion dollars about to fly out the door, they quickly set about a new payroll tax designed to shift the cost of health care onto the private sector.
The business community is still wondering why you would base a tax on the number of employees without any consideration for profitability and a company’s ability to pay.
But now large charities, non-profit service providers, school boards and even municipalities are getting caught up in the web of the payroll tax. Faced with this dilemma, the premier and the finance minister appear to disagree about who might be eligible for an exemption from the tax.
But that could leave the business community holding the bag for a $4.2 billion tax hike over the next four years.
What will they think of next?
Donna Barnett is the Liberal MLA for the Cariboo-Chilcotin.