Richard Truscott, Vice-President, BC and Alberta, Samantha Howard, Director, Provincial Affairs, BC Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses Email: msbc@cfib.ca Re: CFIB BC Party Leaders Survey Dear Mr. Truscott and Ms. Howard, Thank you for your 2017 provincial election questionnaire. Please accept the detailed survey response below on behalf of all BC New Democrat candidates in the 2017 provincial election. For more information on our platform, please visit www.bcndp.ca/platform Thank you. *** Vision for Entrepreneurship According to a recent CFIB survey, nearly two-thirds of small businesses are not confident their concerns will receive sufficient attention during the provincial election campaign. This compares to just 14 per cent who are confident, with the remainder unsure. Their top concerns are found in the following sections. More generally: What is your vision for the future of entrepreneurship in British Columbia? Like the small businesses that are the backbone of BC s economy today, the future economic successes of the 21 st century will be built with inspiration, perspiration and determination. With our skilled workforce, growing entrepreneurial culture, diverse population and beautiful environment, we believe BC can be a global leader in innovation and new technologies. To achieve that goal, we will start by investing in people to develop and attract world class talent. We will invest $100 million to expand post-secondary programs and grow BC s talent pool in information, communications, digital media, entertainment, life sciences, health, clean technologies, engineering and more. We will partner with universities throughout BC to build technology and innovation centres in key areas of BC s economy. For example, specialized innovation centres in the Interior and Northern BC will help us to grow and strengthen traditional industries like mining, agriculture and forestry.
We will create better access to the capital that entrepreneurs need to nurture their concepts from the idea stage and build successful, growing businesses. We will encourage investment in BC companies, and develop a stronger venture capital culture, by strengthening existing venture capital and tax credit programs. We will re-invigorate the Innovative Clean Energy Fund to boost investment in groundbreaking new energy technologies, climate change solutions, and communityfocused energy projects. We will streamline and simplify incentive programs and credits offered to the tech sector to better support smaller companies without mountains of paperwork. We will support credit unions a key lender for small businesses in their request to lift the cap which limits their lending. We also support and will continue economic development programs like Small Business BC, the Small Business Roundtable, and the Venture Capital Tax Credit Program. More generally, the John Horgan and the BC NDP s top priority is to make life more affordable for average British Columbians. By reducing the cost of living and the cost of doing business, we will make it possible for more people to seize opportunities, take risks and start new businesses. Christy Clark has allowed B.C. to become Canada s most unaffordable province. Skyrocketing real estate costs, Hydro rates, ICBC insurance and more prevent businesses from locating here and reduce the amount of money that people can spend at shops in their communities. Our platform includes a wide range of initiatives to change that. Budgets and Finances Only three provinces this year are expected to have a balanced budget, BC being one of them. Balancing the budget is the top priority of small businesses in BC 97 per cent support maintaining a balanced budget. Will you commit to maintaining a balanced budget? Please elaborate. The NDP s fiscal plan calls for a balanced budget in the next three years, plus a $700 million contingency fund and forecast allowance. Our plan is based on the 2017 Liberal Budget, and assumes its forecasts are accurate. We re committed to living within our means. However, if unforeseen circumstances arise, we will not balance the budget on the backs of the people of British Columbia by cutting important services or imposing new fees and taxes on the middle class. Will you create a plan to reduce the overall provincial debt burden? Please elaborate. We are committed to living within our means. We will maintain the government s debt-to-gdp ratio at a reasonable, sustainable level and protect our credit rating. As an example of our record,
in 2001 the NDP left the province with the second-lowest debt-to-gdp ratio of all provinces (it s now third) and the second-best credit rating. Affordability & Tax Policy Just like for BC residents, affordability for small businesses has become a major issue. In the past few years, nearly 80 per cent of BC small business owners surveyed say running their business has become less affordable, and over 80 per cent expect the issue to get worse in the years to come. The government has an opportunity to help by adjusting tax and regulatory policies. Please respond to the following questions on ways to make operating in British Columbia more affordable for entrepreneurs. In the short-term, will you look at ways to reduce the negative impact of the PST (e.g. removing from machinery & equipment and/or gradually phasing it out on all business inputs)? We have no plans to make major changes to the PST, but are happy to consider ways to streamline the administration of the tax and improve business productivity. For example, we supported eliminating PST from electricity for businesses. In the long-term, will you commit to a comprehensive consultation with British Columbians about moving to a made-in-bc VAT? British Columbians rejected the HST because it was a major tax shift from business to individuals. We are not contemplating a made-in-bc VAT. Will you commit to lower the small business income tax rate (currently 2.0 per cent), and in what time frame? Do you have any plans to raising the small business income tax threshold (currently $500,000)? Our platform commits to reducing the small business income tax rate from 2.5 to 2 per cent, retroactive to April 1, 2017. We have no plans to change the threshold. Will you provide new tax credit measures to support small businesses hiring/training employees (e.g. training tax credit, wage off-set tax credit)? We support the training tax credit. We will also explore new ways to increase co-op placements, especially in the tech sector, and to increase apprenticeships on major projects.
What are your plans with respect to BC s carbon tax (currently $30 per tonne of carbon emissions)? As mandated by the federal government s carbon pricing policy, we will increase the carbon tax from $30 to $36 per tonne in 2020, and to $50 by 2022. Revenue raised from the carbon tax will be used to give families a climate rebate cheque, and to invest in climate solutions that reduce carbon pollution and create jobs. Across BC, businesses in BC pay roughly 2.6 times more property tax than a resident on the same assessed property value. Will you work with municipalities to establish a maximum cap on the difference between business property tax rates and residential property tax rates (e.g. max 2 to 1)? We have no plans to impose property tax caps on local governments. We support allowing municipalities to average and phase-in large land assessment changes to provide temporary tax relief to property owners. In 2014, overall BC municipal operational expenditures were 48 per cent higher than in 2004 (after adjusting for inflation). This compares to 12 per cent population growth over the period. This has put pressure on municipal taxes and fees. As municipal government property taxes and fees rank as one of the most important issues facing BC small businesses, will you commit to supporting the Auditor General for Local Government? Given its poor record and large cost, we will review the role of the Auditor General for Local Government. In general, we believe that the Office of the B.C. Auditor General is far better equipped to defend the public interest and, with additional resources, could assume responsibility for overseeing local governments. Will you commit to tying minimum wage increases to a max of CPI, and put that commitment into legislation? Yes, we support tying the minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index. As BC s cost of living skyrocketed, Christy Clark let BC s minimum wage fall behind. Today, a person working full-time in a minimum wage job simply can t make ends meet. Meanwhile, other places are leading the way. The city of Seattle made a $15 an hour minimum wage law in 2015. Now restaurants are thriving and the economy has strengthened as people earning a minimum wage spend more, putting money right back into their local economy.
We will bring in a $15 an hour minimum wage by 2021. Phasing the increases in will allow businesses to adjust, ensuring that jobs aren t put at risk and that employment in minimum wage sectors actually increases as has been the case in Seattle. Once we reach $15 an hour, we will index the minimum wage to inflation to ensure we don t fall behind. Red Tape Reduction Red tape refers to rules, policies, or government services that do little or nothing to serve the public interest while creating financial cost or frustration for producers and consumers. It constricts businesses ability to operate, and ranks in the top three concerns of small business owners. Will you make red tape reduction a priority? If so, how? Please elaborate. Yes, we support reducing red tape. We will continue initiatives like the Small Business Roundtable (which began under the BC NDP in the late 1990s and often identifies red tape to cut) and the Taxpayer Fairness and Service Code. Will you commit to legislate the one-for-one rule (e.g. for each new regulation, another must be eliminated) that currently exists in policy only? No. We believe that regulation counts are an artificial measure. We will work with the small business community to minimize the time and money it takes to meet regulatory requirements that protect health, workers and the environment. Multi-Materials BC has had a negative impact on many businesses in BC. Will you commit to an independent review of MMBC and the former program through a lens of the economy, the environment, and competitiveness? Yes, we will do an independent review of MMBC. BC NDP MLA Lana Popham has been a major critic of MMBC and the Recycling Regulation that created it. She called it a Godzilla-sized red tape monster and asked the B.C. Auditor General to audit the organization, only to find out that the B.C. Liberals had set it up to be immune to government audit. We ll change that. We will launch an independent review to make sure it s working for B.C. businesses and consumers, and to ensure that it s transparent, accountable, and cost effective.