VANCOUVER — Members of British Columbia's business community gathered on Tuesday to speak out against the BC NDP's plan to impose provincial sales tax on more professional services.The coalition, which was led by the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade and included representatives from nearly every corner of BC's economy, warned that moving forward with the PST expansion would have wide-ranging negative impacts on businesses, investors, and consumers..GVBoT President and CEO Bridgitte Anderson made it clear that "there is no middle ground" on the issue of PST expansion, noting that she and other business leaders would continue to fight until it is removed from the budget..Ryan Mitton of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business set the scene by explaining that for the past five quarters, more businesses have closed than opened in BC. This trend can be pinned on a variety of factors, including red tape and crime. If the BC NDP's budget is implemented as written, PST would be applied to security and accounting services."PST compliance and paperwork are some of the most time-consuming forms of red tape we hear about from entrepreneurs," Mitton said. "If you want to reverse BC's entrepreneurial drought, you must stop this tax increase.".Mike Drummond of the Urban Development Institute noted that an expansion of the PST would impact the construction of new housing.“[On] a 20-storey, 300-unit rental building, this measure adds $275,000 in upfront construction costs, $20,000 in additional annual operating costs," he said. "Because income-producing buildings are valued on net operating income, roughly $500,000 is lost in asset value — half a million dollars of equity removed from a project that is already difficult to finance.".Chris Gardner of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association echoed his concerns, urging the BC NDP to "work with builders" to get development back on track.He noted that thousands of British Columbians are moving to Alberta in search of cheaper housing..Another sector that would be hit hard is mining, which the BC NDP has cited as one of the province's best hopes for generating economic growth. Micheal Göhring of the Mining Association of BC questioned why, given that, the government would seek to impose PST on services such companies rely on.."Laying more costs on an industry that government has identified as a foundational economic and job-creation driver is counterproductive," he said. "It makes no sense ... The PST will hinder efforts to grow BC's mining industry.".Representing the Association for Mineral Exploration was Todd Stone. He shared Göhring's worries on the timing of the move."Why would the government impose these costs at the very time when they say this sector is so critical to our economic future?" Stone asked, noting that had the PST been applied on the $750 million spent on exploration in BC last year, companies would have incurred $16 million in additional costs..More and more businesses in BC have been forced to pay for security services to deal with crime. Jess Ketchum of Save Our Streets argued that blame for this can be placed squarely at the feet of government, and that to add a tax on top of it all is "a real punch in the gut.".The government has justified the PST expansion by saying it aligns BC with other provinces. When asked what the coalition thought of that defence, Mitton spoke up."Making ourselves worse and describing that as 'aligning with other jurisdictions' is a laughable excuse, to be frank," he said. "We want to be a more competitive province. The PST is one of the least competitive taxes we have, so calling that aligning with other jurisdictions simply does not pass a reality check."
