With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1199442
from our businesses that these auditors were actually spending a little bit more time auditing B.C. businesses, not so much audit- ing Alberta businesses," Dan Baxter, direc- tor of policy development, government and stakeholder relations for the BC Chamber of Commerce, says with a laugh. Last summer, the NDP government asked Baxter's group to try a more inti- mate approach to their discussions, send- ing deputy ministers and staff throughout the province to talk with local chambers of commerce. Besides offering further rec- ommendations on how to minimize prob- lems caused by PST, the chambers raised concerns that the new employer health tax could be too bruising—especially for small businesses. Victoria is still working through any policy changes that might result from the talks, but Baxter says he's heard at least one encouraging response: "They're looking at making sure there's a little bit more balance in how they're doing audits up in the north- eastern regions." The government continues its efforts to help the province's businesses, said Finance Minister and Deputy Premier Carole James in a statement: "Our government partnered with the federal government to deliver $800 million in tax reductions over four years for businesses investing in machinery and equipment in our province. We also moved quickly to support B.C. businesses by phas- ing out PST on electricity for businesses." James's ministry said it operates an audit program focused on out-of-province companies doing business here. A WAITING GAME Of course, tweaks to tax collection policies won't help much, as long as the industry keeps pulling investment from the prov- ince's gas fields. LNG Canada, a $40-billion project in Kitimat, will liquefy natural gas from the Montney for export to Asia after its projected completion in 2025. That will allow B.C. producers to steer out of the energy glut depressing prices on this con- tinent. Until then, the province must do more to encourage gas companies to stay vested here, says Mike Bernier, BC Liberal MLA for Peace River South and a former mayor of Dawson Creek. That includes thinking about changes that reduce the tax burden on businesses, even if it requires overhauling the govern- ment's budget, Bernier argues. "We're starting to see that uncertainty take place— that lack of investment," he says. "Which is going to be a huge hit to the bottom line of government." And yet tax rates don't pose the great- est danger for energy companies operat- ing in northeastern B.C. Dale Bumstead is Bernier's successor in Dawson Creek's may- or's chair. He recently returned home from Calgary, where he met with top energy executives to reinforce the importance of supporting local small businesses and communities. "The biggest risk that industry faces today is the risk of a project not moving ahead," Bumstead explains. He points to Kinder Morgan's long-delayed Trans Mountain Expansion Project from Edmon- ton to Burnaby as an example. Kinder Morgan grew weary of fighting legal battles to complete the pipeline expansion, so it sold the whole project to the federal gov- ernment. "The risk hasn't been as a result of a financial burden, but it's been the social pushback by communities and residents opposed to the project," Bumstead says. ■