• Chamber Submission to 2018 Budget Consultation: 10/16/2017

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    October 16, 2017
    Chamber of Commerce Submission to 2018 BC Budget Consultation

    Select Standing Committee on
    Finance and Government Services
     
     
    Re:  Written Submission to the 2018 Budget Consultation
     
    To Whom It May Concern,
     
    This submission is prepared by the Fort Nelson & District Chamber of Commerce on behalf of our membership representing over 200 of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality’s small and medium sized businesses.
     
    It is in the best interest of the province to ensure rural and northern British Columbia communities have strong and sustainable economies.  Businesses and residents of rural communities are the backbone of the BC economy providing the raw materials and agriculture to support our BC population often with a huge disparity in access to services and amenities common in southern BC.   We would ask the Standing Finance Committee to consider the following in their recommendations for the 2018 provincial budget:
     
    1. Health Care – All British Columbians should have access to equitable health care services.
      1. Services - Rural & remote northern communities are burdened with a higher cost of living and fewer amenities than our neighbours in the south.  We have to travel to access most services particularly healthcare.  We have no access to local specialized health care and a family cannot even birth a baby in Fort Nelson.  They are required to travel out at their own expense a minimum of 3 weeks before the expected due date.  It is estimated this costs young families over $10,000 not including the stress of being away from home.  Cancer patients must also travel for all treatment at great expense and often adverse weather conditions. 
      2. Make 100% of medical travel costs tax deductible for rural residents who are required to travel for medical services, such as maternity, when those services are not available in their community.
      3. Medivac and Air Ambulance services – BC And Canada should have access to medical emergency transportation to a level 3 trauma centre within 1 hour of an emergency.  The HEMS report by the BC Forestry Ombudsman clearly identifies the need for improved emergency transportation.  It is more fiscally prudent to fund improved access to initial emergency treatment than to require ongoing lifelong care.  Funds must be made available to ensure rural and remote communities have access to reliable, timely medivac and air ambulance services.  Fort Nelson is located at Mile 300 on the Alaska Hwy and as part the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality we cover an area of approximately 10% of BC’s land mass.  Fort Nelson has ambulance services the next services available are at Watson Lake in the Yukon and Fort St John to the South.  Fort St John is 377 km away and Watson Lake is 513 km with the primary responsibility for emergency falling on Fort Nelson.  To the south it is a minimum of 2 hours before emergency care reaches you and to the north it can be 4 to 6 hours.  Imagine being injured or having a loved one ill and waiting that length of time.  In addition air medivac services are hampered by distance and process.   
    2. Provide an additional Provincial Northern Tax Credit to offset some of the disparity in the cost of living in rural Northern BC.  This would encourage more people to live in northern resource communities.  Please see the attached “Addendum A” for a detailed description. 
    3. Provide an offset to the carbon tax for northern and rural residents and businesses, similar to the offset provided to agriculture.  We have the highest fuel costs in the province in northern BC without the option of public transportation.  We travel long distances in often harsh winter conditions.  Businesses are often required to travel hundreds of kilometers to provide service to industry such as natural gas developers. 
    4. Level Playing Field for PST – continue to work closely with NEBC on ensuring BC based businesses no longer have a competitive disadvantage with Alberta through PST assessment.  Ensure funds are available to make the necessary changes to provide a BC taxation model similar to Saskatchewan. 
    5. Diversification – Provide incentives and support for communities and business to help diversify economies and keep business strong especially in a downturned economy such as Fort Nelson is currently facing. 
    In closing we would like to thank the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services for the opportunity to present our concerns and for your consideration of the above information in the upcoming provincial budget recommendations.


    Addendum "A"
     
    Proposal to Select Standing Committee on Budget and Finance
     
    A major issue for British Columbia, is to encourage British Columbians to work
    in the far North.     The present Northern Resident Tax program is a joint Federal/
    Provincial Income Tax Credit, deducted     against earned income, which serves to
    lower taxable income for individuals that live and work in the     North. There are
    very specific criteria (Zone A or B) for eligibility. It is a deduction of $8,030 
     
    On behalf of the Fort Nelson Chamber of Commerce, I encourage the
    Finance Committee to consider implementing a British Columbia
    Northern Resident Tax credit that would only apply to individuals that
    declare they were resident in and maintained a Residence, in the
    Northern Zones of BC for at least six consecutive months.
    (Same as the Federal tax program).
     
    This would mean that an estimated 10-15,000 British Columbians who currently reside
    in Area A or an     estimated 75,000 who reside in Area B would receive a Tax deduction
    against Earned Income, that would     serve to put additional dollars in their pockets. This
    tax deduction would not benefit individuals with     Income below the Basic Individual
    Exemption amount.
     
    The principal purpose would be to encourage individuals and families that earn income
    in the North, but     reside in other areas, to make the North their permanent home. This
    deduction would not affect (benefit)     out of province workers who travel in and out. It
    would also not benefit workers in the Southern part of     the Province who choose to
    maintain their residence other than in the North.  We all know that increased
    dollars in peoples' pockets means more spending and eventually more tax revenue.
     
    Keeping the criteria similar to existing Federal Northern Residence guidelines would
    make for ease of     administration.  Guidelines would need to be in place to protect against
    individuals living in camps     (required to provide Property Tax or Utility receipts).
     
    The cost to the Provincial Treasury for this program would be modest but the benefits could
    be dramatic     as tax payers learn the value of the Northern Resident Tax deductions and living
    in our beautiful region.
     
    Earned Income after existing
    deductions against taxable income      		 $  100,000
    Current Tax payable (2016)  $ 27, 260
    Less proposed BC Northern Residents deduction of *$3,000  - $ 3,000
    New Taxable Income  $ 97,000
    New Tax payable   $ 26,112

      

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