By Greg Fry

Kamloops mayor on Employer Health Tax: ‘It’s a bit of a sham’

Jul 4, 2018 | 2:53 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian is blasting the provincial goverment after Victoria confirmed today local governments across B.C. won’t be exempt from its controversial Employer Health Tax (EHT).

The tax is being implemented in 2019 to replace Medical Service Plan (MSP) premiums in B.C. 

“It’s nothing other than downloading in its purest form,” Christian told CFJC Today. “They’re getting the credit for getting rid of the MSP and we’re going to catch heck from the taxpayers for raising taxes to pay for the MSP. So, I just think it’s a provincial responsibility that they should be shouldering themselves.”

So, what exactly will it mean for Kamloops taxpayers?

“In the first year it’s not as bad, but then in 2020 we will see the full extent of that. It works out to about three-quarters of a percentage point across everybody’s taxes. So, that’s going to be a significant hit on a budget that’s already stretched.”

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Although local governments are going to get dinged with the Employer Health Tax, other organizations — including school boards, health authorities, universities and non-profits with payrolls less than $1.5 million a year — won’t.

“I suppose the rationale that they use is that they don’t have taxing authority. So, therefore, it would be a direct cut to services whereas municipalities and regional districts do,” said Christian

“But I think that’s a pretty lame excuse. I think that this is something that has always been a provincial responsibility. They decided to take that payment away from the general populace so that’s fair enough. But then to take it away from the general populace and add it to their municipal tax bill is a bit of a sham.”