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HomeNewsWilliams Lake Council To Request Province to Eliminate or Reduce Employer Health...

Williams Lake Council To Request Province to Eliminate or Reduce Employer Health Tax

Williams Lake Council will be joining the City of Langley in requesting the Province for the elimination or reduction of the newly implemented Employer Health Tax.

Council unanimously agreed this week to the recommendation to write the provincial government with the request.

Property tax rates according to the City’s Chief Financial Officer would have to be increased by a further 1.3% across all property classes to address the additional $149,361 it will have to pay in 2019.

Staff also estimated that from 2020 the City of Williams Lake will have to pay almost $93,000 more.

B.C Finance Minister Carole James announced February in Budget 2018 that the revenues from MSP premiums will be eliminated effective January 1, 2020 and will be replaced with an employer health tax.

The Employer Health Tax James said will come into effect January 1, 2019 with the following rate structure:

  • Businesses with a payroll of more than $1.5 million will pay a rate of 1.95% on their total payroll
  • Businesses with a payroll between $500,000 and $1.5 million will pay a reduced rate
  • Businesses with a payroll under $500,000 will not pay the tax

“By exempting businesses with payrolls under $500,000 the employer health tax is designed to help protect small businesses,” said James.

“At 1.95%, it is also the lowest rate among provinces with a payroll tax in Canada.”

Langley City Council resolved on May 14 to write to all B.C municipalities urging them to correspond to the provincial government requesting the elimination or reduction of the newly implemented Employer Health Tax after it passed the resolution asking the Province to exempt local governments, regional districts and school boards from the imposition of the EHT to lessen the financial burden on local taxpayers.

Also writing a letter to the provincial government on the Employer Health Tax and its’ budgetary impacts on local governments is the Cariboo Regional District. The Board agreed with Area D. Director Steve Forseth’s request to express its dismay at a regular board meeting on May 2.

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