It’s time for the Eby government to consider the lessons of the past and embrace a future of lower taxes, greater prosperity, and a more competitive BC (Western Standard)
The British Columbia economy—and the living standards of British Columbians—have stagnated. In the last two years, BC’s per-person GDP, a broad measure of living standards, declined by an estimated 0.8% in 2023 and 2.1% in 2024 (after adjusting for inflation). To turn BC’s economy around, the Eby government needs a new bold approach when it tables its next budget in March. Fortunately, the government can heed lessons from the province’s past. In 2001, the provincial government cut personal income tax rates by 25% (on average) across all brackets, and BC went from having the second-highest top marginal personal income tax rate to the second-lowest in Canada. But in recent years, successive governments have reversed many of the 2001 tax cuts and raised personal income taxes on high-income earners. Now, BC has the fourth-highest top combined (federal/provincial or state) rate (53.5 per cent) in North America ... CLICK HERE for the full story