B.C. Liberals’ Pre-Election “Balanced Budget” Borrows NDP’s Corporate Tax Hikes

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VICTORIA – The B.C. Liberals’ borrowed heavily from the opposition in their pre-election “balanced budget” which  proposes to bring in corporate tax hikes and tax hikes for the wealthy, something that very much looks like Adrian Dix’s platform.

The corporate income tax rate would rise one point to 11 per cent effective April 1, accelerating by a year an increase announced in 2012. NDP leader Adrian Dix has repeatedly promised to increase the corporate rate to 12 per cent, where it was in 2008.

Finance Minister Mike de Jong’s budget, tabled Tuesday, also would raise personal income taxes for those earning $150,000 or more by 2.1 per cent to 16.8 per cent for two years, starting next January. That increase is to be rolled back to the current rate of 14.7 per cent in 2015, de Jong said.

Savings from spending controls have achieved an improved deficit forecast of $1.2 billion in 2012-13. Beginning in 2013-14, continued spending discipline, targeted tax increases, net economic growth, and the successful sale of surplus government properties and assets combine to eliminate the deficit and deliver progressively larger forecast surpluses all three years of the fiscal plan:

The B.C. government’s balanced budget plan constrains spending growth to an annual average of 1.5 per cent over the next three years, while continuing to protect health and education services.

Savings and efficiencies in health spending will keep the growth of the Ministry of Health budget to an annual average of 2.6 per cent – adding about $2.4 billion over the fiscal plan to reach $17.4 billion in 2015-16. B.C. continues to achieve key health outcomes that lead the country while maintaining the second-lowest rate of health spending per capita among provinces.

To help achieve the balanced budget, government is making some

targeted tax changes, including:

* Increasing taxes on tobacco by $2 a carton, effective Oct. 1, 2013.

* Phasing out school property tax credits for light industry (class

five) for the 2013 tax year.

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