“We need the CCPA to remind us that our dreams of a decent, egalitarian society are reasonable — indeed that with a little work, they are practical. And I love that practicality, that protection of the dream of the possible.”
— Naomi Klein
(Vancouver) The BC government's announced plan to increase MSP premiums by 50% is a regressive tax increase, says the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
"Overall, this increase means that almost one third of last summer's personal income tax cut is rolled back. But the tax cut is being rolled back in a particularly regressive manner. Someone making an average income of $30,000 received a tax cut of $430 per year. Now that same individual will see their MSP premiums increase by $216 per year (meaning half of their tax cut just went up in smoke). If that same individual is paying MSP premiums for a family, their entire tax cut just evaporated."
"MSP premiums are a very regressive tax. This shift means that the government is substituting a progressive income tax system with a straight head tax. It is a terrible way to raise revenues and will increase inequality."