09) B.C. TAX DOLLARS FLOW TO BIG OIL

 

            Doing business with the energy industry has cost British Columbians about $1.25 billion in royalty revenues over the last five years, even before most of the product has been extracted. The incentives to the industry were highlighted by B.C. auditor general Carol Bellringer in her 2013‑2014 summary of the province's financial statements.

 

            According to a Vancouver Sun report, Bellringer also noted how much money the government made from selling assets, and how much it paid in interest on debt accumulated through public‑private partnerships.

 

            The incentive credits to the energy sector are designed to encourage production of oil and gas, but in effect subsidize corporations at taxpayer expense. The industry has accumulated $1.25 billion in credits, and last year alone that figure hit $587 million.

 

            "When these producers claim their incentive credits, that money will be deducted from the royalties that they owe, thereby reducing the amount of money government will generate," Bellringer wrote in her report.

 

            When it came to the sale of provincial assets, land and buildings, the government made $601 million last year, allowing the government record a $353 million surplus.

 

            The province also paid higher interest rates, ranging from 4.42% to 14.79?, on the debt it accumulated through public‑private partnerships. The interest rate on taxpayer supported debt averaged about four per cent.

 

 (The above article is from the November 16-30, 2014, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading socialist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)