'Status quo' budget suits B.C. NDP just fine

Every year, the provincial government provides a package of documents to the media, which assembles in a Victoria conference to look at the documents' contents — the new budget — in the hours before it is officially released.

Most of the time, it's pretty similar: a Powerpoint handout of the finance minister's presentation, a few press releases highlighting new programs, and the official 150-page budget report that outlines all the revenues and expenses for the upcoming year. 

But this year, as the government announced its $7.9-billion projected deficit, there was an additional piece of paper. 

Titled "Net Provincial Taxes Since Budget 2016," it outlines the changes in a variety of taxes and benefits for different groups over the last eight years. 

It was a subtle acknowledgement of the story the B.C. NDP government would like to tell — one that de-emphasizes the specifics of this year's budget, and instead highlights the story they will focus on in the lead-up to this October's scheduled provincial election.

Benefits for middle- and low-income families

The document shows the changes from 2016 — the year before the NDP took power — to 2024, with estimated taxes paid by families with a net income of $30,000, $60,000, $80,000 or $100,000.

It demonstrates the effects of eliminating MSP premiums, the introduction of a B.C. Family Benefit (replacing the Early Childhood Opportunity Benefit), reductions in basic income taxes for most people, and increases to the typical amount paid in sales and fuel taxes.

The document shows families making $60,000 a year will likely pay $98 in total provincial taxes next year, compared to $4,238 in 2016, or that a family making $100,000 will see their total provincial tax bill lowered from $7,743 to $4,630.

It's worth noting that the document doesn't show how much home and rental prices have risen since 2016, which has exacerbated the affordability and homelessness crisis in so many ways.

But it's that incremental, cumulative impact that the province wanted to highlight in their budget — along with their decision not to make major changes to their philosophy to avoid projected deficits of $22 billion over the next three years.

"Our government has been helping with costs for years," said Finance Minister Katrine Conroy in her speech to the Legislature, as she listed a litany of things the B.C. NDP had done in previous budgets.

"We're not going to increase taxes for ordinary British Columbians." 

Voters will soon decide

Those decisions led to a relatively stand pat budget: a few tweaks and one-time rebates for various tax credits and funding programs, but no major new programs or initiatives.

While there were new items — like free in-vitro fertilization, raising the Employers Health Tax threshold to $1 million, or details of the homeflipping tax — they amounted to rounding errors in an $80-billion budget.   

Little wonder that all the opposition parties would emphasize that stand-pat nature of the budget — with the parties and advocacy groups to the B.C. NDP's left criticizing a lack of ambition, and those to the right, the deficit spending. 

"Budget 2024 racks up the largest deficit in B.C. history to maintain a status quo that is simply not working," said B.C. United Leader Kevin Falcon.

"In a year for bold moves, the B.C. NDP fails to read the room. Budget 2024 doesn't meet the moment we are facing," said B.C. Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau.

At the same time, it's an election year where the B.C. NDP is heavily leading in the polls and facing a split opposition on the right — courtesy of the rising B.C. Conservatives, who also criticized the deficit spending.

In that environment, there's less of a political need to make a big swing. 

Which means the B.C. NDP likely won't mind attacks about a lack of boldness, or a status quo budget — and leave it up to voters to give their own verdict eight months from now.