The Surrey Board of Trade is calling for a review of the BC tax system, examining how it can be reformed to foster growth and help BC recover from the economic shock of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“BC will have to walk a fiscal tightrope between the need to reduce debt and deficits and supporting economic growth,” said Anita Huberman, CEO, Surrey Board of Trade.
“The fastest and least painful path to recovery is by encouraging business investment and job creation. Reconceiving our provincial tax system is a must to rebuild our economy, critical to BC’s ability to recover from COVID-19’s impact.”
The Surrey Board of Trade wants a public consultation process for the BC tax regime to solicit ideas on potential tax reforms.
“We must mobilize private capital to rebuild our economy, not just public dollars. An independent tax review will help identify what needs to happen to grow our economy out of this crisis and generate the revenue needed to pay for pandemic spending.”
After more than one year of COVID-19, some businesses are worse off than at the beginning of the pandemic. The collection of the Speculation and Vacancy Tax, and other taxes and increased costs are only adding to the hardships faced by the business community.
“On top of these BC taxes, businesses also are also going to face increased costs in their upcoming local government property tax bill. How much more can business afford?”
“One move that would be positive is the need the BC Government to implement a Split Assessment Taxation system that would create a new commercial sub-class to alleviate pressure on businesses that operate in a building with the airspace above them zoned as residential.”
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Anita Huberman, 604-634-0342, anita@businessinsurrey.com
