BC Conservatives Pledge to Scrap PST on Capital Equipment for Businesses

BC Conservative Leader Lorne Doerksen announced during a campaign stop in Surrey today that his party would eliminate the provincial sales tax on capital equipment, such as machinery, for businesses across British Columbia.

Doerksen also promised to appoint a Red Tape Reduction Minister to cut government paperwork and simplify complex regulations affecting businesses.

He also responded to accusations from B.C. NDP Leader David Eby that the Conservatives would scrap the province’s no-fault insurance system. Doerksen said he agrees with Eby that insurance must remain affordable, but argued that seriously injured people are not receiving adequate compensation under the current system.

Citing one case, Doerksen said a family that lost its daughter in a car crash received such a small insurance payout that it was not even enough to cover the child’s funeral expenses. He described the case as a major flaw in the current insurance system.

Doerksen said the BC Conservatives would introduce a hybrid insurance system and establish a legal cap on the fees charged by lawyers.