Close X
Monday, November 25, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. Businesses Say New Health Tax Will Raise Prices For Consumers

The Canadian Press, 22 Feb, 2018 01:16 PM
    VANCOUVER — Small business owners in British Columbia say a new health-care payroll tax will result in higher prices for consumers as companies struggle to absorb the cost.
     
     
    The NDP government announced in this week's budget that it would be phasing out medical services premiums by 2020 and instead will have an employer health tax of 1.95 per cent for companies with a payroll tax over $1.5 million.
     
     
    Eric Pateman, president of the Vancouver restaurant Edible Canada, says the tax will add about $30,000 to his annual payroll costs of roughly $1.5 million.
     
     
    He says with profit margins in the restaurant industry range between three to four per cent and there is little room to absorb significant labour cost increases, meaning prices will have to go up for consumers.
     
     
    Al Hasham, owner of Maximum Express Courier in Victoria, says even small tax increases of one to two per cent stifles the growth of businesses, leading to staffing cuts or higher prices.
     
     
    Finance Minister Carole James says only five per cent of businesses will be paying the full tax rate and those covering the existing health premiums for their employees will see savings as the fees are cut in half and then eliminated.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Florida School Shooting: Vancouver Artist Pia Guerra Draws Beautiful Tribute To Aaron Feis

    Florida School Shooting: Vancouver Artist Pia Guerra Draws Beautiful Tribute To Aaron Feis
    A Vancouver illustrator said she's overwhelmed by the social media response to her cartoon depicting a victim of the recent school shooting in Florida.

    Florida School Shooting: Vancouver Artist Pia Guerra Draws Beautiful Tribute To Aaron Feis

    Canadian Families Finding Small Living Creates Closeness, Creative Kids

    Canadian Families Finding Small Living Creates Closeness, Creative Kids
    Adrian Crook hadn't always intended on raising his five kids in a three-bedroom condo in downtown Vancouver.

    Canadian Families Finding Small Living Creates Closeness, Creative Kids

    Landslide Lake Offers Breath-Taking Views On Vancouver Island Hike

    Landslide Lake Offers Breath-Taking Views On Vancouver Island Hike
    Cradled below towering mountains at the centre of Vancouver Island is a lake whose name tells the landscape's history. Landslide Lake caught the face of one the Island's tallest mountains when a magnitude-7.3 earthquake shook it loose in 1946.

    Landslide Lake Offers Breath-Taking Views On Vancouver Island Hike

    New Home, Vehicles Damaged In Targeted Port Coquitlam Shooting

    New Home, Vehicles Damaged In Targeted Port Coquitlam Shooting
    Coquitlam RCMP is making progress in the investigation into a shooting at 8:30 p.m. last night (February 18, 2018) at a Port Coquitlam home.

    New Home, Vehicles Damaged In Targeted Port Coquitlam Shooting

    Harjit Sajjan Asks Justin Trudeau To Meet Punjab CM Who Accused Canada Of Sikh Separatist Sympathies

    Harjit Sajjan Asks Justin Trudeau To Meet Punjab CM Who Accused Canada Of Sikh Separatist Sympathies
    At the request of Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan — who was snubbed by Singh when Sajjan visited India last April — Canada's high commissioner was dispatched to set up a meeting with Singh, Trudeau and Sajjan later this week.

    Harjit Sajjan Asks Justin Trudeau To Meet Punjab CM Who Accused Canada Of Sikh Separatist Sympathies

    PICS: Justin Trudeau Visits India's Famed Taj Mahal With Family In Tow

    PICS: Justin Trudeau Visits India's Famed Taj Mahal With Family In Tow
    Prime Minister Justin Trudeau began the first full day of his week-long trip to India by taking a tour of the famed Taj Mahal, followed by a visit to an elephant rescue sanctuary north of Agra.

    PICS: Justin Trudeau Visits India's Famed Taj Mahal With Family In Tow