B.C. Conservatives promise tax cut that could blow $4-billion hole in provincial budget, tax expert says

The B.C. Conservatives are promising to put more money back into British Columbians’ pockets with a major increase to the provincial basic personal exemption, but at least one tax expert says the promise could cost the province up to $4 billion a year.

“The cost is enormous,” said David Duff, a University of B.C. law professor and director of the tax program at the Peter A. Allard School of Law.

“It’s not possible to break it down exactly, but I figure the cost is in the range of $3 billion to $4 billion per year when we’ve got a ($13.8 billion) deficit. So that’s like a 20 to 25 per cent increase in the deficit just by that one measure, and they’ve said they’re not going to raise any other taxes.”

Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson made the announcement at a grocery store in Surrey and said the raising of the basic personal exemption from $13,216 to $32,000 would lower the tax burden for British Columbians by up to $1,000 a year. He said the change will also ensure that people making minimum wage will not pay any income tax to the provincial government.

“With a $1,000 tax cut, British Columbia will be well on its way to becoming the most affordable, competitive province in Canada,” said Doerkson, adding the average B.C. family would save $167 a month from the tax cut. “British Columbians will be able to earn more than anyone else in Canada before paying a cent of provincial tax.”

Doerkson was asked by reporters how much the tax cut would cost and how he would pay for it.

He didn’t answer how much it would cost. But said he will not cover the cost by cutting health care or education, instead promising to “supercharge” the provincial economy through measures like the tripling of LNG production by 2035 and the removal of regulatory restrictions.

“I am absolutely committed to keeping those front-line services intact and improving on them, but we can’t do that if we continue to just simply get all of our revenue from residents through taxation, which has exactly been the regime under (NDP Leader) David Eby,” said Doerkson. “We have to stop that downward pressure on our residents, and we have to grow an economy through different things.”

The Conservative party didn’t provide a detailed costing for the tax cut when asked by Postmedia News, with a spokesperson promising that more details would be included in the party’s platform, which they said will be released shortly.

Navdeep Singh Chhina of Living Wage B.C. said the tax cut could be helpful for low-income earners but he hasn’t seen enough details yet. He said he wants B.C. political parties to focus on wage increases as well as improving services like child care and public transportation, and is concerned a tax cut would put expansions of these services out of reach for the government.

“The biggest thing we want to see from whoever comes into government is a meaningful increase in the wages that people need to earn,” said Chhina. “For example, in Metro Vancouver, there is currently a gap of $10 between the minimum wage and what people need to earn to make a living here, and this gap varies across the province.”