Author: Michael Holden
As a think tank dedicated to improving the long-term prosperity of western Canada, the Canada West Foundation is paying close attention to the signals being sent by the region’s provincial governments and the federal government in their 2013/14 budgets.
On February 15, the Foundation laid out five areas we hoped to see in the British Columbia budget in our budget preview.
The 2013/14 Budget Analysis assesses the degree to which progress is being made in these areas and presents four key findings:
- British Columbians are best served when provincial budgets emphasize long-term planning and strategic investments rather than have a singular focus on fiscal balance.
- New investments in education and skills training will help the province meet future labour needs.
- Business tax increases are intended to raise revenues in the short term but could undermine the province’s competitive position down the road.
- The BC government missed an opportunity to set the parameters and objectives of a Prosperity Fund and to begin the transition to saving non-renewable resource revenues.