Minimum Wage Hike Announced
Prince George, B.C.- Effective, Sept. 15th the Minimum wage in B.C. will see the first of two increases, with the first boost of 40 cents an hour to bring the minimum wage to $10.85.A second increase of 30 cents an hour plus an amount based on the 2016 CPI (estimated to be 10 cents) will bring the minimum wage rate to $11.25, effective Sept. 15, 2017.
Premier Christy Clark made the announcement this hour, saying the increase is higher because the Province has a better economic performance “We are in the fastest growing economy and with an economy growing this fact, we should make sure people working in our province benefit from that growth.”,
Clark also announced a reduction in the small business tax by 40% by the fiscal year of 2017/18 . This would mean a small business that is incorporated with $100,000 in active business income would have its taxes go from $2,500 to $1,500, savings of $1,000 annually.
Comments
Great news!!
Great News, small business will be charging you 40% more effective immediately and will be charging a further 30% effective September 15, 2017.
Kind of a strange comment.
The reduction of 40% means a saving of 1% on the business net income. Then add any other cost increases and decreases and you might see an adjustment in marked prices.
Chain industry publications say wages consume 33% of a fast food restaurant’s revenues. In terms of straight percentages, if minimum wage cost will go up 10%, so that number will go up to 36.3% of revenues. So for a $10.00 fast food meal the small business will have to increase the price by 33 cents to cover this wage hike. If that’s a deal breaker for most people, then expect to see a lot of Tim Horton’s closing the doors. Somehow I suspect most of us will be able to come up with the extra money.
Nobody can live on $11.25 an hour today. By 2017, full time minimum wage earners will be further behind. They are already leaning heavily on social service organizations like food banks.
And to put this into perspective, if you work full time at the new minimum wage, you will pay $2,500.00 in taxes, $990.00 in CPP, and another $600.00 in EI. People complain about regressive taxes.
Well, if you make $100,000 a year, you pay 2.5% of your income into the CPP because it maxes out at about $55,000.00. The minimum wage worker pays about 4.2%.
Now, CPP doesn’t count your lowest 8 years of earnings. So if we go on the assumption that minimum wage jobs are entry level jobs, shouldn’t we be exempting them from CPP, EI, and income tax. It won’t affect their CPP if they get better jobs later. And if they never do, then their CPP will be so piddly, they’ll get topped up by the Guaranteed Income Supplement.
In short, CPP premiums is a massive rip off of minimum wage workers, because it will never benefit them if they stay minimum wage, and it won’t hurt them, if they go on to get well paying jobs.
One is NOT supposed to “live” on minimum wage.
One is NOT supposed to make a career of minimum wage.
If one is on a minimum wage, that is below the living wage of $17 per hour, then one has not made any real effort to exceed minimum wage and rise above their beginnings. Minimum wage is intended for first employment experience, NOT to make a life.
The solution is education and training.
You could complain about the cost of post secondary education, but you would be so very wrong, because it is not a cost, it is an investment in oneself and one’s future security. In addition, government at many levels support education and training with grants, and student loans are the most favourable financial instruments one would ever have the good fortune of accessing. Pay for your own education like did.
As far as I am concerned, there should not be a mandated minimum wage. If someone is willing to accept less, than they likely deserve what they get.
I am not rich or affluent by any means, but I do not need handouts, I give hand ups.
Now, get over yourself and get to school.
If you want a pension (CPP) you have to pay in to it, that’s the way it works!
20 cent an Hour increase every Year for the last 50 Years get’s you to today’s Minimum
Wage and the Government calls this a good Deal ? It’s more like keep the Poor down, how can you pay today’s Prices on this Wage ?
Sorry to say but an increase like this is a total embarrassment to announce already to the working poor. For Chisty to say we have better economic performance than any other provinces is total BS. The only one who has done better is herself . When you get a top up in salary of $50000 from her own party is corrupt seeing the ones who donated to her party got a tax break on what they donated. Her salary top up cost us all money.
oldman1, how exactly has Christy Clark’s salary top up cost you any money?
This “top up” comes from the coffers of the Liberal Party, coffers that are full from donations to the Liberal Party!
oldman1, are you secretly making donations to the Liberal Party? The Liberal Party of BC thanks you for your donation!
oldman1, by your argument, donations to the NDP cost us all money, haha!
Give John Horgan a call to voice your displeasure!
oldman1, just read this from CTV, and thought that I’d pass it along to you!
VICTORIA – British Columbia’s conflict commissioner has ruled that exclusive fundraisers and a stipend paid to the premier by the B.C. Liberal Party are not conflicts of interest.
ht tp://bc.ctvnews.ca/premier-s-allowance-fundraisers-not-conflicts-commissioner-rules-1.2888595
Loki–some of your comments are out touch in today’s world. Did you have parents to stay with while going to school? Not everyone is capable of getting a better education or have the finances.
Election on the horizon.
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