British Columbians affected by the COVID-19 pandemic will benefit from $5 billion in income supports, tax relief and direct funding for people, businesses and services.
“The COVID-19 pandemic challenges our health, our economy and our way of life. People and businesses urgently need support,” said Premier John Horgan. “Our action plan focuses on services to protect people’s health and safety, gives immediate relief to people and businesses, and plans for B.C.’s economic recovery over the long term.”
British Columbia has a strong economic foundation, but COVID-19 is having impacts across the country and around the world. Every aspect of B.C.’s economy will be touched by this pandemic. The COVID-19 Action Plan will help businesses get through the immediate crisis and lay the groundwork needed to get businesses back on their feet once the crisis is over.
Effective immediately, businesses with a payroll over $500,000 can defer their employer health tax payments until Sept. 30, 2020. Businesses with a payroll under this threshold are already exempt from the tax.
In addition to the employer health tax, the Province is extending tax filing and payment deadlines for the provincial sales tax (PST), municipal and regional district tax, tobacco tax, motor fuel tax and carbon tax until Sept. 30, 2020. The scheduled April 1 increase to the provincial carbon tax, as well as the new PST registration requirements on e-commerce and the implementation of PST on sweetened carbonated drinks, will be delayed and their timing will be reviewed by Sept. 30, 2020.
Business and light- and major-industry property classes will see their school tax cut in half. This will provide $500 million in immediate relief for businesses that own their property and allow commercial landlords to immediately pass savings on to their tenants in triple-net leases.
In the longer term, the recovery plan will dedicate funding to particularly hard-hit parts of the economy, such as the tourism, hospitality and culture sectors. The B.C. government is partnering with business and labour leaders to build an economic stimulus plan. The Province has allocated $1.5 billion for economic recovery.
Learn More:
- For information on B.C.’s COVID Action Plan and other government resources and updates, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/covid19
- To learn more about Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan, visit: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/economic-response-plan.html
- For non-medical information relating to COVID-19, call 1 888 COVID-19
- For more information on how B.C.’s COVID-19 Action Plan helps people and businesses, visit: http://news.gov.bc.ca/factsheets/bc-takes-steps-to-support-people-businesses-during-covid-19-pandemic
Highlights
Providing relief for businesses
- Tax support for businesses:
- Effective immediately, many provincial tax filing and payment deadlines are deferred to Sept. 30, 2020.
- Businesses with a payroll over $500,000 can defer their employer health tax payments until Sept. 30, 2020. Businesses with a payroll under this threshold are already exempt.
- Payments for provincial sales tax (PST), employer health tax, municipal and regional district tax, carbon tax, motor fuel tax and tobacco tax are also deferred.
- The scheduled increase to the carbon tax rate, and application of PST to e-commerce transactions and sweetened and carbonated drinks, will be delayed.
- Relief for commercial property owners and tenants:
- Business and light and major industry property classes will see their school property tax cut in half for the 2020 tax year, providing $500 million in relief for business that own their property and for tenants on triple-net leases.
Investing in a longer-term economic plan
- $1.5 billion in provincial funding will support economic stimulus once the pandemic has passed.
- The B.C. government is working in partnership with the business and labour sectors to develop the long-term plan for economic recovery.
