B.C.’s business leaders gathered in Vancouver on Tuesday morning to sound the alarm on B.C.’s most recent budget, saying the province is hampering economic growth with new taxes, particularly the expansion of the provincial sales tax (PST).
“It’s clear this government and the business community are not on the same page,” said Bridgitte Anderson, CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.
The Board of Trade, which hosted the Tuesday (Feb. 24) event and held a tense question-and-answer session with the premier on the previous Friday, gave the budget a “D,” its worst grade in more than two decades of assessing the province’s fiscal work.
‘There are particular criteria that we use to do our grading system, looking at fiscal responsibility, competitiveness, economic growth,” Anderson said. “And across the board, in each of those pillars, we saw measures that were going to be undertaken because of this budget that would damage the economy.”
Anderson stood with business leaders from organizations ranging from the Mining Association of B.C. to the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB) to the Business Council of B.C.
All voiced opposition to the proposed expansion of PST to services such as architecture, engineering, geoscience, security, and accounting; and the end of PST exemptions for goods and services, such as cable television and clothing fibres.
“Competitiveness comes down to cost, speed, and certainty,” Anderson said. “This measure pushes all three in the wrong direction. It raises input costs, slows decisions to hire and invest, and adds administrative burden for thousands of businesses.”
Ryan Mitton of the CFIB put the spotlight on small businesses, which he says cannot afford the extra cost and still remain competitive. He says the cost of doing business is already too high. This change, he says, adds cost throughout the system, from accounting to security guards who protect from theft and vandalism.
“It’s no wonder that when CFIB asked small business owners if they would recommend someone start a small business today, two-thirds say no,” Mitton said.
In Eby’s Board of Trade appearance on Friday, he participated in a session allowing Anderson to ask him questions. She pointed out another looming credit downgrade for the province and the “concern and anxiety” among those in the business community.
Eby defended his record, arguing that the province is boosting growth amid economic headwinds and should be graded on a curve considering the state of other provinces’ fiscal outlook.
“I don’t mind getting a D if other students in the class are also graded,” he said.
Anderson called it a “tough conversation,” but she welcomed the premier back to meet with the business community and find a path forward.
According to the statements made on Tuesday morning, for these leaders, there is no way forward that includes the PST change.
“We’re calling for this PST expansion to be stopped,” Anderson said. “There is no middle ground. We need to do everything we can in this province to be more competitive.”