Extra taxes for corporations and B.C.'s wealthiest citizens will help fund affordable child care and commuter relief promised by the BC NDP, the party says.
While rolling out the party platform in Coquitlam Thursday morning, leader John Horgan said the party would raise $500 million by increasing corporate tax by one per cent, and reversing a Liberal tax cut for the province's top two per cent of earners.
The $10 a day affordable daycare the party has long touted would cost $280 million in the first year, and rise incrementally, up to $400 million in 2019/2020 and up to $1.5 billion annually in the 10th year.
The NDP’s rental rebate program, which would give renters a $400 annual credit, will cost $200-million, Horgan says.
All of the measures to make life more affordable for British Columbians add up to some serious cash: the party is pledging $717 million in new spending for the current fiscal year.
However, it promises to fulfill all of its ambitious party promises and record a $109 million surplus for this fiscal year, taking into account the current $295 million surplus in the current budget.
Part of the influx of cash will come from draining $500 million from what it calls Christy Clark's liquefied natural gas "fantasy fund."
That money would be used to eliminate tolls on Port Mann and Golden Ears bridges -- two of the busiest in the Lower Mainland.
"There are no tolls in Kelowna. There are no tolls on the Sea-to-Sky Highway. Why should there be tolls for people who live south of the Fraser River?" Horgan asked.
A new two per cent speculation tax on property owners who don't pay income tax in B.C. is projected to raise $200 million annually.
Liberal Finance Minister Mike De Jong said the NDP promises would cost at least $4 billion annually, which could lead to either "massive deficits or massive tax increases, or maybe a combination of the two."
