De Jong Presents Balanced Budget
Prince George, B.C. – B.C. Finance Minister Mike de Jong has presented the legislature with a 2014 budget which, he says, is a second successive balanced.
Here are some budget highlights:
-Modest surpluses of $184 million at the end of this fiscal year and $451 million over the course of his three-year plan.
-Predicts economic growth of 2% this year, 2.15% next year and 5% in the final year of the plan.
-Revenue to grow by 2.6% per year
-Spending to grow by 2.2% per year
-Public service wages: modest growth starting next year. Wages will grow with economic success of the province.
-Spend $11 billion in capital projects over next three years.
-$129 million to support LNG industry this year.
-Proposed two-tier LNG tax regime with producers paying 1.5% in each of the first 3 years.
-No revenue projected until LNG plants start producing.
-Skills Training: being provided through high schools and higher education.
-$1.5 billion for capital projects in public schools; $2.5 billion for post secondary institution capital projects.
-Training and Education Saving grant of $1200 RESP per child starting in Apr 2014.
-BC early childhood tax benefit up to $55 per month for each child under 6.
-Property Transfer Tax exemption for first-time home buyer going up from $425,000 to $475,000
-More resources into programs and services:
$243 million over 3 yrs to Community Living BC for those with developmental disabilities.
$15 million over 3 yrs to Ministry of Children and Family Development for developmental special needs children.
-Additional $ 2.5 billion over 3 years for health care BUT MSP premiums will go up 4% as of Jan 1st, 2015.
-For smokers, price of cigarettes is going up effective April 1st with a tax increase 32 cents per pack (on top of federal 40 cent per pack hike)
De Jong says he is setting out this 3-year plan, in a second balanced budget, to keep the province on course.
Comments
with budget surpluses of $184 million, $206 million and $451 million over the next three tax years but yet we get an increase in total debt to $68.9 billion over three years ..
found that little omitted stat on another web site
doesn’t sound like a very balanced budget to me….
I think you’re confusing ‘debt’ with ‘deficit’. In terms of the deficit, it is a balanced budget.
crusty can’t count….go back to radio where ya can be heard and not seen..200 days off…give back what ya ain’t earned..if not for the funds from the north this Prov. is in doodoo up too there noses.
And again what they do bout this Child poverty?? NOTHING!! like always….
what are they doing to pay down the debt? nothing it is increasing sounds like mismanage to me we are screwed
What about the hundreds of millions,they take off from hydro and ICBC to ” balance” the budget.. Crooks
‘Debt’ is simply accumulated ‘deficits’, JB.
No ‘Budget’ is ever ‘balanced’ through taxation alone. To do that would mean that the Province was projecting it would be ‘consuming’ everything it is ‘producing’ in one and the same fiscal period, INCLUDING ITS ‘CAPITAL’. And the ‘progress’ of the Province would be completely stationary.
What truly amazes me about people on the ‘right’, and philosophically I agree with them on most things far more than I do with people on the ‘left’, is that they continue to insist that the government be run “…just like any other business”.
But never once do they ever call for the government to do its books the same way as “…any other business.” If they did, the results of just how badly we are really being robbed through ever increasing taxation would truly astound them.
Government provides too much. If we paid the true cost of everything, taxes would go through the roof. The current system is not sustainable, hence debt levels. How much more can we run the credit card up?
Preston Manning says the BC Liberals’ LNG gambit is not only counting chickens before they hatch…..its counting roosters before they hit the henhouse!!
You really quoting Manning without falling off your rocker?
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