Falcon Delivers BC Budget
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 @ 3:06 PM
Victoria- Finance Minister Kevin Falcon delivered his budget today in the legislature, predicting a surplus for BC IN 2013-14.
Budget 2012 shows the deficit forecast for 2011-12 improved by $594 Million over second Quarterly Report projections to $2.5 billion. The Province forecasts a deficit of $968 million in 2012-13, and surpluses of $154 million in 2013-14 and $250 million in 2014-15.
Over the next three years, government will contain spending growth to an annual average of two per cent while continuing to protect health and education funding. The Ministry of Health budget will increase $1.5 billion over the three-year fiscal plan to nearly $17.3 billion in 2014-15. While continuing to achieve key health outcomes that lead the country, government will work to reduce the rate of growth in health spending through an ongoing focus on identifying additional best practices for delivering care and finding administrative savings.
Funding to school districts will increase, despite a trend of declining enrolment. In addition to the $4.7 billion a year districts will receive for the next three years, government is investing an additional $165 million to establish a fund to deal directly with issues of class
composition. The annual facilities grant for maintenance again totals $110 million in 2012-13.
Government remains committed to funding critical social services and is reallocating contingency funds to the ministries of justice and social development, where caseloads continue to rise.
Budget 2012 introduces new tax measures that benefit seniors, families and businesses in B.C., including:
* The B.C. First-Time New Home Buyers’ Bonus of up to $10,000.
* The B.C. Seniors’ Home Renovation Tax Credit of up to $1,000.
* The Children’s Fitness Credit and the Children’s Arts Credit.
Budget 2012 also supports the B.C. Jobs Plan with tax measures for businesses that:
* Eliminate the provincial jet fuel tax for international flights.
* Provide an additional $3 million for the Small Business Venture Capital Program.
* Extend the Training Tax Credit program.
* Introduce new training tax credits for shipbuilding and ship repair industry employers.
* Make permanent the existing temporary municipal tax rate caps for B.C.’s major port terminals.
Given the uncertain fiscal environment, the small business corporate tax rate will be maintained at 2.5 per cent, and will be revisited after the fiscal situation has improved. The fiscal plan also includes a temporary,one-point increase in the general corporate income tax rate to 11 per cent, effective April 1, 2014. The requirement to implement this tax measure will be re-evaluated in next year’s budget. Additionally, to help spur economic activity throughout the province and generate needed revenue, government will release non-strategic surplus assets for sale.
Over the next year, the government will undertake a comprehensive review of the revenue-neutral carbon tax. The review will cover all aspects of the carbon tax-both positive and negative-including revenue neutrality,and it will consider the impact on the competitiveness of B.C.businesses, and in particular B.C. food producers.
Budget 2012 forecasts British Columbia’s taxpayer-supported debt-to-GDP ratio will be 17.6 per cent in 2012-13, 18.2 per cent in 2013-14, and peak at 18.3 per cent in 2014-15, before trending downward once again.
Taxpayer-supported capital spending on schools, hospitals and other infrastructure across the province over the next three years is expected to total $10.7 billion.
The government forecasts British Columbia’s economy will grow by 1.8 per cent in 2012, 2.2 per cent in 2013 and 2.5 per cent per cent in 2014 – a forecast that is prudent relative to the independent British Columbia Economic Forecast Council.
Comments
More lies.
Cheers
MSP premiums are going up again, promised small business tax cut that was to go in effect April 1st/2012 canceled..
” Tuesday, announcing plans to privatize the liquor distribution branch, increase MSP premiums and some business taxes, and to sell off hundreds of millions of dollars in surplus government properties.
” Falcon said his government will cancel a drop in the small business corporate income tax rate, keeping it at 2.5 per cent instead of dropping it to zero as had been planned for this coming April.
Kevin Falcon has chosen to tax small business, not corporations, notice the word IF in the below statement
He added that if the fiscal situation worsens, the government will increase the general corporate income tax rate to 11 per cent from 10 per cent on April 1, 2014″
No money for education, education budget frozen for 4 years, nothing for inflation, education funding will fall again as inflation takes its toll..
Money for healthcare being scaled back,
“Jim Sinclair of the B.C. Federation of Labour called the budget tailor made for the top one per cent of wage earners in B.C.
“If you’re an ordinary person, you’re going to pay more for everything, including MSP premiums and at the end of the day you’re worse off,” he said.
” British Columbia Teachers’ Federation president gave the budget a failing grade.
“This is a fiscal failure of gargantuan proportions,” she said.
“We calculated, looking at the operating budget this year, that it would cost about $137 million just to keep up with inflation alone,” she added.
“If you take the $30 million the finance minister has allowed for public education, that means $100 million cut to public education next year,” she said, predicting “deep cuts” to class size and the prospect of more school closures”
” Mary Ellen Turpel-Lanfond, B.C.’s Representative for Children and Youth, was also highly critical, calling Tuesday’s budget “callous” and a “U-Turn from [Premier Christy Clark’s] families first agenda”.
“On the sale of government assets, Falcon said government plans to generate $706 million by selling select assets in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 fiscal years.Falcon said one of the key assets it hopes to sell is the liquor distribution branch, a move he said is fashioned to allow government to “get out of a business we don’t need to be in.”
“Falcon’s budget also said the government will proceed with the next increase to the Carbon Tax planned for this July – a lift that will bring that tax to 7.67 cents per litre from 6.39 cents”
http://www.vancouversun.com/plans+balance+2013+selling+assets+raising+corporate+taxes/6186544/story.html
Families will pay more for healthcare, more for fuel, small business get their chained yanked while corporations get left alone, Christy Clark and Kevin Falcon with this budget have clearly chosen the rich over the rest, for shame, more to come, I`m still in shock…And everyone who works for a decent buck in the liquor business will now be laid off and replaced with a private sector Mc flip pay job..And The BC Liberals are selling assets that belong to the people to shore up budget numbers, again for shame, the worst budget in BC Liberal history..
The Straight Goods
Vote buying Christy, Shame on you. CYA!
They have got to cancel this carbon
tax. It was stupid when it was brought in and with every increase it further erodes
our competitiveness. Like the gun registry 20 years ago, bad policy is bad policy. I hope this tax dosn’t take 20 years to get shelved with no measerable improvment in the environment.
Dragon, whose votes would they be buying
with this budget.
The “Bring Cash” Budget from the working person.
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