Christy Clark defends budget, says Liberals also considered lowering PST
Posted February 22, 2017 11:14 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BURNABY (NEWS 1130) – Premier Christy Clark is defending her government’s latest budget, which is big on spending, but light on the big tax cuts some were expecting.
While many people focused on the 50 per cent reduction promised for Medical Service Premiums (MSP), Clark says a one per cent cut to the PST was something they dug into.
The premier says after doing the math they figured out that lowering the PST from seven per cent to six per cent would only save those in the middle class about $200 a year while the benefits would go to the wealthier people who spend more.
“What I was looking for was a way to deliver a billion dollars in tax relief for people that would be focused squarely on people who were in the middle class. This is the one that had, by far, the biggest bang for the buck.”
If the Liberals win the election again, the changes to the MSP program will kick in on January 1st.
Clark says there is no timeline yet for eliminating the premium, saying that relies on economic growth.
