All BC residents to see major income tax cut: BC United promise

BC United leader Kevin Falcon vows to cut income tax for everyone

Kevin Falcon. (BC United)

As a campaign promise bound to stir attention, BC United party leader Kevin Falcon announced today that if his party forms provincial government after the October 2024 provincial election, every resident would see at least a major cut to how much they pay in the provincial income tax.

This major tax cut would be based on eliminating the provincial income tax on the first $50,000 earned by every British Columbia resident regardless of their tax bracket.

For low- to lower-middle-income earners within the $50,000 bracket, this would result in the 100% elimination of the provincial income tax for 60% of residents, or 2.4 million people.

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Such cuts would be created by increasing the existing basic provincial income tax personal exemption from $11,980 to $50,000, which would result in savings of $2,050 per taxpayer in this bracket.

The average provincial taxpayer, who has an average income of $54,450, would see their provincial income tax nearly entirely eliminated.

“BC United will implement the largest middle-class tax cut in BC’s history by eliminating the provincial income tax for 60% of British Columbians,” reads a statement by Falcon today, suggesting that the tax savings could support the growing living costs families face for food, gas, and extracurricular programs, which is also greatly exacerbated by worsening housing affordability issues.

“David Eby’s NDP have made British Columbia unaffordable with a blizzard of taxes over eight years in power. BC United’s tax cut policy would immediately be reflected in higher paycheques for folks across the province who are struggling right now. Only BC United will create a more affordable British Columbia.”

There would be no changes to the federal income tax overseen by the federal government.

BC United estimates that such a deep cut to provincial income tax revenues would cost the provincial government about $5.4 billion annually, but they assert this would be significantly offset by an increase in economic activity, consumer spending, and job creation.

This also comes at a time when the BC NDP provincial government is projecting continued historic budget deficits of $7.77 billion in the 2025/2026 fiscal year and $6.29 billion in 2026/2027. This follows the recorded deficit of $5.91 billion in 2023/2024 and an all-time record high of $7.91 billion for the 2024/2025 fiscal year.

It is still early days on the campaign trail, but the BC United and Conservative Party of BC have been quick to release major campaign promises and positions.

In July 2024, Falcon’s party announced their promise to build a new SkyTrain line between the North Shore and Burnaby via the Second Narrows, including a new replacement multi-modal bridge crossing for the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge with 10 vehicle lanes.

BC United, previously known as the BC Liberals, are trailing far behind in the polls, with support levels falling to 9% among decided voters, according to a Research Co. survey last month.

This is behind Sonia Furstenau’s BC Greens at 10%, John Rustad’s Conservative Party of BC at 38%, and David Eby’s BC NDP, which is still leading slightly at 41%.

The election is scheduled for Saturday, October 19, 2024.

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