And business leaders and social services organizations are disappointed in some of the province’s plans
The biggest earners in British Columbia will pay more tax as the province tries to address affordability.
The government’s Budget 2020 raises the tax bracket for those earning above $220,000 to 20.5% from its current 16.8% with the expectation that those earning $1 million or more will contribute almost half of income generated.
“Today, we’re asking the people at the top, the highest 1% of individual income earners, to pay a little more and help B.C. provide families and communities with better services and stronger infrastructure,” said Carole James, Minister of Finance.
The minister said that the province is embarking on an ambitious infrastructure building plan which will ensure BC has what it needs for the years ahead.
This includes new hospitals, housing, schools, and child care centres as capital spending increases over three years to $22.9 billion – the highest level in B.C.’s history.
“British Columbians are working hard to build a better future for their family, and so are we. By building the infrastructure our growing province needs, we’re making life easier for people and creating good jobs and opportunities in local communities,” James said.
The budget is balanced in all three years of the fiscal plan with surpluses of $227 million in 2020-21, $179 million in 2021-22, and $374 million in 2022-23.
Disappointing, worrying
But the Budget is disappointing for several groups, including Family Services of Greater Vancouver, one of the province’s largest social services organizations.
“More clarity is going to be required on how the government plans to ‘support recruitment and retention’ in the social services sector as a whole,” says Karin Kirkpatrick, CEO of Family Services of Greater Vancouver. “Right now, we can’t attract or retain our highly-educated and trained employees because we can’t pay them competitively.”
“This is because social services agencies who deliver programs and services to people on behalf of government don’t receive enough funding to cover the actual delivery of these programs, and this funding is annually set and inconsistent,” she added. “We look forward to working with government across Ministries to help solve these recruitment and retention issues in 2020.”
Meanwhile, businesses have also expressed concern.
“While government has prioritized a variety of worthwhile program areas, including childcare, housing affordability, education, and transit and transportation investments, paying for this requires a competitive and growing economy. The Budget does not pay sufficient attention to the storm clouds facing us due to slower global growth and escalating tax and regulatory costs at home,” stated Jock Finlayson, the Business Council’s Executive VP and Chief Policy Officer.
He added that the Business Council’s members are concerned about the federal and provincial governments increasing the tax burden year after year.
“Since 2013, the B.C. government has added more than $5 billion in incremental tax costs on B.C. businesses. On top of this are steep increases in property taxes on business and industry in many B.C. communities,” he said. “These trends are making it harder to do business and to scale-up our companies. The government has much more work to do if it wants B.C. to remain an attractive place for investment, entrepreneurial ambition and top talent.”
Employment planning
The government says that it wants to make sure that residents are educated and trained to meet the demands of employers in the years ahead.
It has announced a new grant to help those from all backgrounds to access secondary education or training.
And there will be support for forestry workers to help update skills, buy new equipment, or move towards early retirement.
With the high costs of bringing up a family in BC, the budget also includes a new BC Child Opportunity Benefit, launching in October 2020, will provide 290,000 families with more money to support their kids.
Greener BC
The importance of a greener future for BC means more money for CleanBC and includes incentives to buy electric vehicles and provide EV charging stations.
Industry will be incentivized to move to low-carbon, clean solutions.
And healthcare will also be boosted with an extra $1 billion to spend on upgrading facilities and other measures.
