B.C. to table spend-heavy budget: provincial gov’t
VICTORIA — British Columbia’s finance minister says five consecutive surplus budgets and a nation-leading economy has the government prepared to spend money after years of penny pinching.
Mike de Jong said Monday that broad tax relief for residents and small business operators are part of the budget he tables Tuesday, just months ahead of May’s provincial election.
The budget comes a week after Premier Christy Clark said her Liberal government will pay back taxpayers for financial sacrifices of recent years.
We are trying to ensure the benefits of our nation-leading economy are shared by the widest possible group,” de Jong said a news conference at a Victoria shoe repair shop. De Jong skipped the budget tradition of buying new shoes again this year and had old pair of black Bostonian brogues shined, stitched and re-soled.