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Column: NDP taxing small business, British Columbians into oblivion

Notes from the Legislature by Shuswap MLA Greg Kyllo
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Shuswap MLA Greg Kyllo stops in for a visit with Music Man Studios’ John Guilbeault during Small Business Week. (Greg Kyllo/Facebook)

Throughout October, members of the BC Liberal Caucus are joining with British Columbians to celebrate our province’s small business sector.

Small and medium-sized businesses play an integral role, both in B.C.’s economy and to the fabric of the communities in which they are located.

With more than one million British Columbians working in the small business sector, elected officials must recognize how important it is to support small businesses and the entrepreneurs who keep them running. However, over the past few years, it has become increasingly difficult for small businesses to operate in B.C.

The NDP government has introduced 19 new and increased taxes since coming to power. Among these new taxes is the Employer Health Tax, or EHT, which has been the second biggest tax increase in B.C. in the past five years. The Business Council of British Columbia estimates that the EHT alone will cost B.C. businesses $800-million a year in additional tax – and this comes alongside the 18 other new and increased taxes.

Across the province, small businesses that should be growing and thriving are instead finding themselves in survival mode as John Horgan and his NDP government burden them with uncompetitive taxation. Most small businesses already operate on very thin profit margins, so adding further pressure by reducing those margins through taxation will only serve to make life less affordable for these 36,000 entrepreneurs.

The success of small businesses is vital to our economy, and to see them struggling in the way that many are under the current government is concerning — both on a provincial level and for the small communities in which many of these businesses operate. A strong economy and successful private sector are necessary for thriving communities. When small businesses are provided with the supports they need to flourish, they provide local people with steady jobs, produce goods and services that make our lives better and, in turn, invest in the local cities and towns where they operate.

Read more: Four out of five small Canadian businesses broadcast music illegally: survey

Read more: Penticton, Salmon Arm, Lumby recognized for welcoming small business

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and John Horgan and the NDP are putting them at risk to pay for their excessive spending. Business owners, the one million British Columbians they employ, and the communities they support deserve better from their government. They deserve a government that looks out for their interests instead of one that is content taxing them into oblivion.


@SalmonArm
newsroom@saobserver.net

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