Increases in top personal income and corporate taxes are making it more difficult for B.C. to compete for highly skilled workers compared to neighbouring U.S. states, according to a new study from the Fraser Institute.

B.C.91裸聊视频檚 top combined federal and provincial personal income tax rate is 49.8 per cent, applying to income of $150,000 and up. That91裸聊视频檚 about 13 per cent higher than the rate in Washington and Alaska, neither of which has a state income tax.

91裸聊视频淭he B.C. government has recently made worse the province91裸聊视频檚 long-standing tax competitiveness problem with recent hikes to personal and corporate income taxes, payroll taxes, carbon taxes, vehicle taxes and property taxes 91裸聊视频� all of which make it harder to attract potential skilled workers, investors and businesses,91裸聊视频� said Ben Eisen, a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and co-author of .

91裸聊视频淏.C.91裸聊视频檚 tax regime is simply uncompetitive with not only neighbouring U.S. states, but several Canadian provinces.91裸聊视频�

The study ranks B.C. ninth highest among provinces and states in North America in the top personal income tax rate. For tax rates on business investment, the survey finds B.C. to be highest among provinces.

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The gap is made more significant by major tax changes implemented last year by U.S. President Donald Trump. B.C.91裸聊视频檚 corporate income tax rate is 91裸聊视频渋n the middle of the pack91裸聊视频� for provinces, the study says. But using a measure called 91裸聊视频渕arginal effective tax rate91裸聊视频� that calculates the broader application of sales tax to businesses, B.C. goes to the top.

The harmonized sales tax, implemented in B.C. in 2010 and then repealed in 2011 after a province-wide petition demanded it, was designed to make business more competitive by spreading sales tax across more services and lifting it from manufacturing and other business inputs on the way to delivering a final product.

B.C. businesses are now coming to grips with the new employer health tax, a new tax on payrolls of more than $500,000 a year that takes effect as of Jan. 1 to replace provincial revenue from the Medical Services Plan tax. Some businesses are paying both for 2019, with the MSP rate reduced by 50 per cent and eliminated in 2020.

tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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