This whole myth about keeping corporate taxes low because it will lead to job creation is busted. Corporate tax cuts over the BC Liberal reign of terror have led to the decimation of many of our public services. Many of us are much more poor than we were before this government was in office and richly rewarded their corportate donors.
Even people like Jim Flaherty, the Conservative Finance Minister, have taken to begging and trying to shame his corporate base to stop stockpiling billions made through tax cuts and start creating jobs for Canadians.
Martyn Brown says budget will have NDP 'jumping for joy'
CBC News, Feb 19, 2013.
The B.C. Liberal government likely has the provincial NDP “jumping
for joy,” says Martyn Brown, chief of staff to former premier Gordon
Campbell, in a scathing critique of the budget during an interview with
CBC News anchor Gloria Macarenko Tuesday.
Brown, a longtime Liberal insider in B.C., said the budget had done the NDP’s tax-raising “dirty work” for them.
“The budget basically conceded the tax turf to the NDP,” Brown said.
“I think the only ones jumping for joy today, really, will be the NDP because, effectively, this government has done the dirty work of saying it needs to increase corporate taxes, it needs to increase personal taxes on higher income earners, it’s increasing MSP premiums.”
He said the Liberals basically came up with the very tax agenda that the New Democrats had been suggesting.
“And most of that won’t take effect until next January, a year from now, so you won’t feel it in this election year but you sure will feel it in the years to come,” said Brown.
“It’s not going to matter. This budget won’t see the light of day no matter who gets elected. They’re going to have to introduce a new budget. All the assumptions will be re-evaluated in May and all of the spending will be re-evaluated in May. So really, this is a lot to do about nothing.”
Brown, author of the e-book, Towards a New Government in British Columbia, has been highly critical of the two-year-old Christy Clark administration, and for months has been predicting an NDP victory in the May 14 election.
He says he still is pulling for the Liberals to win, but isn’t holding out much hope. “Miracles do happen in politics, but it’s a long shot, to put it mildly,” Brown said.
Brown, a longtime Liberal insider in B.C., said the budget had done the NDP’s tax-raising “dirty work” for them.
“The budget basically conceded the tax turf to the NDP,” Brown said.
“I think the only ones jumping for joy today, really, will be the NDP because, effectively, this government has done the dirty work of saying it needs to increase corporate taxes, it needs to increase personal taxes on higher income earners, it’s increasing MSP premiums.”
He said the Liberals basically came up with the very tax agenda that the New Democrats had been suggesting.
“And most of that won’t take effect until next January, a year from now, so you won’t feel it in this election year but you sure will feel it in the years to come,” said Brown.
'A lot to do about nothing'
Brown also predicted the budget will be dead before it has much chance to be enacted.“It’s not going to matter. This budget won’t see the light of day no matter who gets elected. They’re going to have to introduce a new budget. All the assumptions will be re-evaluated in May and all of the spending will be re-evaluated in May. So really, this is a lot to do about nothing.”
Brown, author of the e-book, Towards a New Government in British Columbia, has been highly critical of the two-year-old Christy Clark administration, and for months has been predicting an NDP victory in the May 14 election.
He says he still is pulling for the Liberals to win, but isn’t holding out much hope. “Miracles do happen in politics, but it’s a long shot, to put it mildly,” Brown said.
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Corporate leaders give B.C. Liberals the business
Michael Smythe, The Province,
Taking heat from business is an uncomfortable place for the Liberals, who constantly claim they're the pro-business party, while insisting the NDP are the ones who would jack up taxes and drive away investment. By doing themselves what they accused the NDP of conspiring to do, the Liberals have surrendered a key line of attack in the election campaign.Strangely, this pre-election budget also contained little in the way of promised goodies for voters in that looming campaign, leaving many Liberals I consulted Tuesday to privately wonder how Christy Clark plans to save all their skins.
The provincial government has tabled its 2013-14 budget, calling for a surplus of $197 million in the coming fiscal year, with some new programs aimed at children and families.
Here are some of the highlights:
--the surplus will be achieved through a mix of tax increases, spending restraint, asset sales and economic growth
--tax hikes will bring in an extra $327 million in the coming year
--the corporate income tax rate rises from 10 to 11 % on April first, one year earlier than planned (raising $205 million)
--there will be a temporary two year increase in the personal income tax rate for individual income over 150-thousand dollars, effective january first, 2014 (raising 50 million dollars), goes up by about 2 percent
--tobacco taxes go up by two dollars per carton on october first (raising 17 million dollars)
--msp premiums go up by about four percent on january 1, 2014 (raising 23 million dollars)
--school property tax credits for light industry are phased out for the 2013 tax year (raising 32 million dollars)
--as promised, no increase in carbon tax, rate to stay the same for next three years...but there is 20 million to provide carbon tax relief for commercial greenhouse vegetable and flower growers ..and farmers will get carbon tax exemptions for coloured fuel
--government says it will hold annual spending increases to 1.5 per-cent over the next three years, while revenue is expected to average three per-cent annual growth
--savings of 1 billion dollars identified in ministries and crown agencies over 3 years
--economy expected to grow by 1.6 per-cent in 2013, 2.2 per-cent in 2014, 2.5 per-cent in 2015
--land sales of more than 100 surplus properties, raising 800 million in the coming fiscal year, 150 million the following year...that represents less than two percent of government's 70 billion dollar portfolio
--there are some new spending measures spread out over the next 3 years
--government is introducing a new bc training and education savings grant worth 12-hundred dollars
--when a child born on or after january 1st, 2007 turns six years old, government will deposit 12-hundred dollars into r-e-s-p (registered education savings plan); no matching contributions are required
--a new early childhood tax benefit to be introduced in 2015, worth up to 55 dollars per month or 660 dollars annually for each child under six.....aimed at low income families, would be phased out for families with net income between 100-thousand and 150-thousand dollars
--76 million over 3 years to improve early learning and child care services and supports
--there will be 52 million dollars in new money over 3 years to cover increased rcmp costs
--60 million in new and reallocated fundeing for the sports and arts legacy fund
--18 million for the new b-c creative futures agency
--13 million over 3 years to support renewal and renovation of 13 provincially owned s-r-o hotels on downtown eastside
--5 million to enhance counselling and treatment for problem gambling
--4 million over 3 years to help agricultural land commission increase oversight of the a-l-r
--total provincial debt forecats to be 63 billion dollars in 2013-14, rising to 69 billion in 2015-16
--key measure of debt-to-gdp ratio will peak at 18.3% in 2014-15, then fall to 18.1% the following year
--fiscal plan has forecast allowance of 200 million dollars and contingency fund of 225 million dollars
--deficit for the current fiscal year ending on march 31st has been reduced from 1.5 to 1.2 billion dollars
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