MSP cut to be offset with pain at the pump: Canadian Taxpayers Federation
KAMLOOPS — There’s both good news and bad news to look forward to in 2018 when it comes to taxes.
“To start off with the good, our Medical Services Premium, the MSP, which is of course the mandatory health care tax that all British Columbians have to pay, is being cut in half,” says Canadian Taxpayers Federation BC Director Kris Sims. “So, that will save the average two-person family about $900 every year.”
But as one hand giveth, she notes the other will take away with a bump in B.C.’s carbon tax.
“It’s going up to $35 per ton in April, that keeps us at the top of the heap in Canada. What that means in real dollars is that if you’re filling up your average car, say a Toyota Corolla, that’s about $5 extra every single time you fill up your car, just for the carbon tax,” she says. “That does not include extra taxes or fees. And if you drive a pickup or SUV it’s an extra $10 a fillup.”