XPost: van.general, nanaimo.general, vic.general   
   XPost: bc.general, can.politics   
   From: puela@nyet.ca   
      
   Christy Clark (who has attended only 8 out of 24 legislature sittings) hasn't   
   forgotten to give us her usual holiday gift, however:  more taxes and higher   
   premiums.   
   Enjoy, British Columbia . . . . this is the Harper-friendly conservative   
   government who hide behind the name 'BC Liberals'.   
   _____________________________________   
   CBC News Posted: Dec 30, 2014   
      
   2015 tax, rate and fare hikes for B.C. residents   
   Six ways B.C. residents and business can expect to pay more in the new year   
      
   B.C. residents may be gearing up to celebrate New Year's Eve on Wednesday   
   night, but they may not be looking forward to several tax and rate increases   
   coming in 2015.   
      
   Jordan Bateman, the executive director of the B.C. branch of the Canadian   
   Taxpayers Federation, said while many of the hikes will look small at first,   
   they all add up to a big hit, especially those on a fixed income.   
      
   "Government agencies forget that they look at their increase and say, 'Well, it   
   is only $4 a month.  Who can't live with that?"  And they may be right.  The   
   problem is that their $4 gets added to everyone else's extra take, and before   
   you know it, the taxpayer feels strapped," said Bateman.   
      
   "It is not like they are matching what cost of living increases a pensioner   
   would get for example.  Instead they are way out of control and really comes   
   down to a lack of fiscal discipline," said Batemen.   
      
   Among the tax and levy increases that concern Bateman are:   
      
   -    Medical Services Premium rates will rise four per cent, up $33 for   
   individuals, $60 for families of two, and $66 for families of three or more per   
   year.   
   -    BC Hydro electricity rates will rise six per cent on April 1,   
   approximately $72 for the average home, part of a 28 per cent rate hike over   
   five years approved by the government.   
   -    ICBC is ending its AirCare program, but basic auto insurance will rise $36   
   for the average car.   
   -    BC Ferries recently cut its 3.4 per cent fuel surcharge, but fares will   
   rise 3.9 per cent on April 1.   
      
   Bateman also notes that Surrey has announced a 2.9 per cent tax increase, and   
   Vancouver is looking at a similar increase.   
      
   Residents of Metro Vancouver will also get a chance to vote this spring on a   
   new transit sales tax of 0.5 per cent.  It is estimated the new tax would cost   
   the average Metro Vancouver household $258.   
      
   Bateman says that would be the single biggest tax increase in the country in   
   2015.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)