VICTORIA, February 20, 2019 – The Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) congratulates the government for its seventh consecutive balanced budget. The government is projecting a budget surplus over the next three fiscal years – $274 million in 2019-20; $287 million in 2020-21; and $585 million in 2021-22.
A key area of focus in Budget 2019, “Making Life Better”, is affordability. A highlight is the introduction of the B.C. Child Opportunity Benefit that will replace the Early Childhood Tax Benefit. This new refundable tax credit will be available three times longer (up to the age of 18) than the previous benefit. However, it starts to claw-back when family net income reaches $25,000. The government also introduced the elimination of interest from all B.C. student loans as of today.
“We are pleased that the B.C. government is delivering strong supports for families and has not introduced any new revenue generating taxes. However, to ensure economic resilience and the integrity and growth of the tax base, the government should also look at policies that will improve long-term economic growth for the province,” said Lori Mathison, FCPA, FCGA, LLB, president and CEO of CPABC, “We consider tax competitiveness integral to economic growth and government should not lose sight of that, especially in a time of economic uncertainty.”
In terms of economic development, the government is committing over $20 billion to capital investment, primarily in the health, transportation, and education sectors, and over $902 million for CleanBC to put B.C. on a path to a low-carbon future.
“Following from federal tax changes, the B.C. government is also committing more than $800 million over the next three years in business tax reductions, to support business investment in capital assets such as buildings, machinery, and equipment. This is a small step forward to encouraging business productivity, which is vital to our long-term economic sustainability,” said Mathison. “CPABC is also pleased to see the ‘Mining Flow-Through Share Tax Credit’ become permanent, which creates more certainty for the mining industry.”
About CPA British Columbia
The Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) is the training, governing, and regulatory body for more than 36,000 CPA members and 6,000 CPA students and candidates. CPABC carries out its primary mission to protect the public by enforcing the highest professional and ethical standards and contributing to the advancement of public policy. CPAs are recognized internationally for bringing superior financial expertise, strategic thinking, business insight, and leadership to organizations.
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For more information, contact:
Vivian Tse
Public Affairs Manager
604.488.2647
vtse@bccpa.ca
