Small Businesses Applaud Premier Gordon Campbell

Commentary
By Brian Bonney, Canadian Federation of Independent Business

BC small- and medium-sized businesses applaud the premiers’ 15 per cent personal income tax reduction announced last week in a televised address to the province.
The Premier just injected $568 million dollars into the pockets of British Columbians.
This will drive consumer spending, small business growth and employment.
Just as important, this tax cut announcement, like the 25 per cent in 2001 and the premiers ten point economic plan in 2008, is a major step towards rebuilding small business confidence in the economy and the government’s vision for BC.
This announcement has a positive precedence.
BC’s historic 2001 25 per cent personal income tax reduction resulted in an 18 per cent increase in gross domestic product, and due to the economic stimulus and hiring this measure generated, almost a billion more in personal income tax revenue to the government by 2006/07.
History and research show that tax reduction stimulus works.
The premier continues to lead the country by example through reducing taxes as an economic stimulus.
Since forming government the premier has reduced small business tax from 4.5 to 2.5 per cent, and he confirmed his promise to take small business tax to zero on April 1st, 2012.
 General corporate taxes have also been reduced from 16.5 to 10.5 per cent and he has promised to reduce them to 10 per cent in 2011.
And, he eliminated the corporate capital tax in 2001. He has increased the basic personal exemption and the small business tax threshold, reduced provincial school tax on industry and now we will have the lowest personal income taxes for income under $130,000 in Canada.
In our pre-budget submission to the government, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business recommended it was time to switch from spending to tax reduction as an economic stimulus, that small business in BC is now looking to the government for a new vision of further tax reductions to drive our economy.
The premier has delivered.
Now the government must focus on further spending cuts to balance our budget sooner, announce an HST tax reduction and implement a long term debt reduction plan.
 If he does this, the premier will have achieved his goal of B.C. becoming the most business friendly jurisdiction in Canada.

Brian Bonney is the B.C. director of provincial affairs for CFIB which represents the views of 10,000 small- and medium-sized businesses in British Columbia, and has 107,000 members across Canada.