The cumulative tax burden keeps growing under John Horgan and the BC NDP. So does red tape, which studies show is an even bigger drag on economic growth.

To paraphrase Winston Churchill, trying to tax ourselves into prosperity is like standing in a bucket trying to lift ourselves up by the handle.

The cumulative tax burden keeps growing under John Horgan and the BC NDP. So does red tape, which studies show is an even bigger drag on economic growth.

To pay for the public services we all rely on without raising the cost of living for people and families, we need to focus not on increasing tax rates but on growing the tax base - the size of the taxable economy - especially through economic growth.

Tinkering around the margins won’t work.

We need a comprehensive tax review to modernize our entire tax system and make sure it’s competitive and common sense, and that it’s conducive to growing the economy.

That’s crucial for unlocking opportunities and making sure local families and businesses feel they have an opportunity to make it here in BC, rather than leave for greener pastures.

What are your priorities for tax reform? Click here to connect and let me know.

We all know there are big high-profile tax issues that have taken on a life of their own, like the speculation tax, the carbon tax, and the HST.

But our entire approach to fiscal management and the tax system has to fit together to create conditions for investment and success. Here are a few examples of other issues that I’m thinking about:

• There is only one taxpayer. Government user fees (think MSP, tolls, or road pricing) are part of the overall burden on taxpayers, whether they’re called taxes or not. We need to keep a constant eye on cumulative taxation, not try to fool people by defining taxes narrowly.
• The nature of work is changing with a big shift to contract work, the gig economy, and “work from anywhere.” We need to make sure the tax system makes sense in this new reality.
• We need to make sure the tax system doesn’t hinder business growth and job creation. For example, does it really make sensefor the same small business tax threshold to apply to an early-stage tech startup running at a loss as an established and profitable business?
• BC has the largest underground economy per person in the country, which creates huge issues of tax fairness for law-abiding citizens. That’s why I want to use smart economics to reduce crime and increase tax revenues from the multi-billion-dollar cannabis industry, where NDP incompetence is leaving millions of dollars in taxes to be collected by gangsters instead of being invested in education and health care.