Liberals seek pause on major taxes to aid B.C.’s recovery from COVID-19
Opposition leader Wilkinson calls on NDP government to be ‘bold and brave’
VICTORIA — B.C.’s Opposition Liberal party is calling on the NDP government to suspend the provincial sales tax, the hotel tax and the employer health tax for up to three months to help the economy recover from COVID-19.
Opposition leader Andrew Wilkinson outlined the measures Tuesday in a letter to Premier John Horgan, in which he praised the government’s response to the coronavirus and called on it to be aggressive in helping rebuild the economy.
“The challenge in front of us may well be more difficult than fighting the virus itself,” Wilkinson wrote. “We are now in a deep recession, hundreds of thousands of people are out of work, businesses are in peril, and students are likely not back in school until the fall.
“Now is the time to be bold and brave.”
Horgan is expected to unveil the first steps to easing pandemic restrictions on Wednesday.
In the letter, Wilkinson also urges the government to develop an economic recovery strategy for rural B.C., place a moratorium on new regulations that would add costs to B.C. businesses and develop a “short-term commercial rent relief plan that includes a no-eviction backstop to help small businesses, particularly retailers, who have seen a significant loss of revenue.”
The province should have a timely review process for sectors of the economy that are pitching plans to reopen, and that should be accompanied by increased testing, monitoring and a long-term plan to secure the necessary health supplies, wrote Wilkinson.
The provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, has said increased testing and contact tracing of COVID-19 cases is a cornerstone of any plans to easing restrictions.
“The people of British Columbia have been rightfully focused on what they can do to support government in our collective efforts to combat
COVID-19,” wrote Wilkinson. “But they are also growing more and more concerned about how they will deal with the economic devastation that looms ahead.”
Wilkinson also reaffirmed the Opposition’s support for how the NDP government has responded to the coronavirus, which has led to a largely non-partisan atmosphere during the pandemic. Liberal MLAs have been working with NDP and Green MLAs to hold public information town halls and collaborate on health care measures.
“The effort to combat this virus has truly been an all-in effort by British Columbians, who deserve our gratitude for the sacrifices they have made to help flatten the curve,” wrote Wilkinson.
"Our front-line health professionals, and essential service workers like transit drivers and grocery store staff, deserve our special thanks for the incredible sacrifices they are making, day in and day out, on behalf of us all.
“The tireless efforts of provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, minister of health Adrian Dix, and their respective teams deserve our gratitude, too.”
A three-month pause on the three major taxes would likely have the government forgo as much as $2.5 billion in revenue — or roughly four per cent of its projected revenue in the year.
However, the exact financial impact is difficult to calculate because PST revenue depends on the amount of consumer purchases this year, and the employer health tax depends on the number of private-sector employees. Hundreds of thousands of British Columbians have lost their jobs because of the pandemic lockdown.
The challenge in front of us may well be more difficult than fighting the virus itself.”
Andrew Wilkinson