VICTORIA — Finance Minister Brenda Bailey has tabled British Columbia's 2026-27 budget, revealing a projected deficit of $13.3 billion — $3 billion higher than what was estimated last year.After crunching the numbers, Canadian Taxpayers Federation BC Director Carson Binda warned it will be a "disaster" for taxpayers.."Finance Minister Brenda Bailey took a dry tinder box of our provincial finances and just threw a lit cigarette out the window," Binda told the Western Standard during an interview on the steps of the legislature. "We're facing big tax hikes for your average BC family."According to Bailey, people earning under $149,000 will not see their taxes go up, however those in the next tax bracket will see an increase of .5%. The average taxpayer will pay an extra $76 per year.Binda argued that the government was bringing back "bracket creep," which occurs when income tax rates aren't indexed to inflation.He also drew attention to the rising debt, noting that $30 billion has accrued this year alone."Every dollar government borrows today is money with interest that taxpayers are on the hook for tomorrow," Binda lamented. "They're tax hikes that government has pushed off until tomorrow, and the interest charges are already eating up a big chunk of our provincial budget — we're spending about $6.5 billion on interest this year. It's money that's going right out the door. It's not staying in British Columbia.".Binda went on to slam Bailey for appearing to say one thing, then do another.."The finance minister, in her press release, talked about finding savings," he said. "Well the finance minister is saving money wrong because she's adding $4 billion to the province's expenses this year. The finance minister is either having problems with basic English or basic accounting — either one should be deeply concerning for tapped-out taxpayers."Binda did praise the government for promising to cut at least some of the "bloated bureaucracy," though he noted it didn't go far enough."If there is some silver lining to this smouldering dumpster fire of a provincial budget, it's the modest reduction in the bureaucracy," he said. "Government is looking at reducing around 15,000 positions from the overall provincial headcount. That sounds like a step in the right direction, but ... it's like fighting a forest fire with a garden hose./t".Binda went on to criticize the government for delivering a deficit $3 billion higher than originally projected."Time and time again, this NDP government has blown past its debt and deficit projections, and this budget is just the latest example of it," he said. "What we need to see is a structural change in the way BC government spends taxpayer money ... We can't afford more costs."
