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Taxpayers urge parties to commit to Taxpayer Top Five

Author: Kris Sims 2020/10/20

VANCOUVER, BC: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is urging all political parties running in the election to commit to its Taxpayer Top Five.

“British Columbians deserve lower taxes, less waste and more accountable government and it’s time for our political parties to heed those concerns,” said Kris Sims, B.C. Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “We hear from working people and business owners every day who are struggling with high taxes that are making a tough economic time even tougher.

“All parties should commit to opening ICBC to competition, cutting taxes and improving accountability at all levels of government.”

The Taxpayer Top Five issues are:

  • Open ICBC to full competition
  • Cancel the Employer Health Tax
  • No new taxes including no mobility pricing
  • Scrap B.C. carbon tax
  • Strengthen the office of the Municipal Auditor General

“ICBC is a government monopoly on an essential product for most people - car insurance - and it’s unfair that we are stuck paying the highest rates in Canada,” said Sims. “We should be able to shop around and choose.”

Emissions are going up and the province is taking more than $1 billion from taxpayers through the non-revenue-neutral B.C. carbon tax every year.

“Premiers from Alberta to Atlantic Canada were elected on popular promises to scrap the carbon tax and now we need to see some political backbone on this side of the Rockies where this mistake started,” said Sims.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is also calling on all parties to commit to strengthening the Auditor General for Municipalities so that whistle blowers have a place to go when they spot unethical behaviour or the waste of taxpayers’ money.

“We constantly get calls from concerned citizens from Victoria to Fort St. John who are worried about wasteful spending at their local city halls,” said Sims. “Taxpayers living in our cities and towns deserve an effective auditor general to make sure their money isn’t being wasted.”

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