B.C. NDP Leader David Eby promises new tax on millionaires to pay for health care
British Columbia NDP Leader David Eby says his party will introduce a new tax bracket for those who earn $1 million or more to help pay for health care, if re-elected.
The top two tax brackets would see a rate hike in addition to a new tax bracket
Arden McLeod · CBC News
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B.C. NDP Leader David Eby is promising to tax people earning $1 million or more at a rate of 24.5 per cent if re-elected, with the revenue to help fund health care.
In a Sunday press release, the B.C. NDP said that only the top two tax brackets would see rates rise by two percentage points, while brackets below that would go unchanged.
Right now, those who make $1 million or more a year are taxed at a rate of 20.5 per cent, the highest tax bracket in B.C.
But the new $1-million income tax bracket Eby is proposing would see a four-per-cent-increase to the current top income tax bracket of $265,545 and higher.
That would mean, if re-elected, incomes of $190,504 to $265,545 and $265,545 to $1-million would be bumped up to 18.8 per cent and 22.5 per cent, respectively.
Anyone earning over $1 million annually would pay a 24.5 per cent tax rate on every dollar above that threshold.
According to the party, the changes would apply to less than four per cent of earners and only to income earned over each tax bracket.
The party also said Eby's proposed changes to would bring in an estimated $1 billion in revenue to "fund healthcare and lower costs."
"As we face an unprecedented attack on our economy and rising costs for working families, we’ll ask the wealthiest to chip in a little more," said Eby in a press release.
The leader made the announcement Sunday, while campaigning in Comox on Vancouver Island, after he toured ridings in southern British Columbia ahead of the Oct. 24 election day.
In response, the B.C. Conservatives said in a statement that the NDP plan would mean taxing the doctors and specialists every community is fighting to recruit, and would drive doctors out of the province.
"There is no problem the NDP don't think can be fixed by raising your taxes," the statement said.
The Conservatives have campaigned on a promise of never raising taxes.
B.C. Greens Leader Emily Lowan said taxing the incomes of B.C.'s most wealthy misses the point because most of the ultra-wealthy don't get rich on paychequaes. Rather, she said their fortunes grow in stocks and real estate. "His plan doesn't touch a cent of that," she said in a statement.
The New Democrats' proposal comes after Eby said his government would introduce price guards for certain groceries, as well as gasoline and diesel, while temporarily lowering the provincial motor fuel tax by 10 cents per litre.
Eby said during the early phases of the campaign that his party would introduce a new tax on empty condominiums and lift the speculation and vacancy tax.
But Peter Milobar, B.C. Conservative Party candidate for Kamloops Centre, criticized the B.C. NDP leader Saturday for promises he made in the 2024 election that he says went unfulfilled.
He pointed to the 2024 campaign promise of giving families a rebate of $1,000 a year for groceries, before cancelling it in order to "find dollars" amid U.S. trade relations instability.
"These are serious times, and families need strong leadership, not a premier who treats promises like campaign props," said Milobar.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Arden McLeod, from Vancouver, is an associate producer with CBC News. He has a passion for community storytelling, local news, and reflecting the values of B.C. He graduated from the British Columbia Institute of Technology's broadcast and online journalism program. You can reach him at Arden.McLeod@cbc.ca.
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