Policy & Positions Manual

Policy Principles

Public policy affects the businesses and economy of British Columbia through:

  • regulation;

  • taxation; and

  • provision of government services,  programs, and infrastructure.


Principles of Effective Public Policy

Regulation

Well designed and effectively enforced regulation improves the functioning of the economy by providing certainty for the business community.  Certainty is essential  for decisions about essential long-term investment in our enterprises.  Regulation should achieve environmental and social policy goals without:

  • imposing significant compliance costs on firms or

  • weakening the ability of businesses to adapt to changing economic conditions, technologies and consumer preferences.

Damage to business and constrained economic activity occurs when regulations have:

  • disproportionately high compliance costs (particularly administrative costs):

  • inconsistently in the way they are enforced (as un enforced regulation favours those who would ignore them):

  • inequitable in their design and application;

  • restrict competition; or,

  • otherwise create an onerous or uncertain burden on business.

The Chamber believes that government must ensure regulation is:

  • Effective - monitored or measured against intended outcomes to meet justified needs

  • Equitable – non-exclusive in their application to the greatest extent practicable, depending upon the circumstances

  • Cost-Efficient – the cost of regulation, both in terms of administrative cost to government and cost to the economy is balanced against the intended benefits.

  • Predictable  – business must be comfortable the regulatory landscape is not open to sudden or dramatic change, regulatory changes should not come as a surprise to the regulated sectors, and have appropriate transitional provisions.

  • Transparent – both the regulations and the process for establishing them must be open to public input and review

  • Timely – regulations should never been ‘set in stone’ but rather subject to periodic review;,

  • Flexible – regulations, individually and collectively, must be responsive to changing circumstances

  • Integrated and harmonized – wherever practicable governments should integrate and reduce regulatory requirements  and streamline assessment and compliance processes (i.e. ‘one project, one process’)


Taxation(2)

Business recognizes that government has a fundamental role to play in providing the infrastructure, both physical and societal, that is essential to a vibrant, sustainable business climate.   The Chamber recognizes that tax revenue must be raised by governments to pay for services, programs and infrastructure, and when properly designed can minimize distortive impacts on business and the economy.

Specifically the Chamber believes government must ensure that taxes are;

  • Low but Adequate - just enough to generate revenue required for provision of essential public services and avoid structural deficits.

  • Broad Based - spread over as wide as possible section of the population, or sectors of economy, as the case may be, to minimize the individual tax burden.

  • Efficient - collection effort should not consume a significant portion of tax revenue, and should be implemented in an economically efficient way (e.g. consumption taxes versus income or capital taxes) Tax credits, earmarking and exemptions are generally opposed by the Chamber.

  • Equitable -  taxes should apply equally to all individuals or entities in similar economic circumstances.

  • Transparent - to the extent that they interfere with or influence individual decision-making or favour some sector, explicitly acknowledge this intent.

  • Predictable - collection of taxes should reinforce their inevitability and regularity.

  • Simple - tax compliance, assessment and determination should be easily understood by an average taxpayer.

  • Competitive –the overall tax burden must reflect the need for BC to remain competitive on a regional, national and international basis.

  • Well managed: Effective and efficient systems of internal control are in place, and proportionate to the risks they aim to mitigate, yet support innovation and results for Canadians.


Government Spending and Programs

The provision of government programs are a central responsibility of government.  Whether it is education, health care, housing, policing or income assistance, government plays a fundamental role in providing services that support families, business and the broader community.  However, government has a greater responsibility to ensure funding dedicated to these programs is appropriately directed and provides value to the taxpayer.  Specifically government must ensure programs consider the following questions:

  • Public interest – Does the program or area of activity serve the broad public interest?

  • Balance – does it balance the overall needs of society and address the sometimes difficult tradeoffs?  For example, health care has increasingly crowded other areas of investment essential to the economic well-being of Canadians.

  • Holistic – Does the activity address the issue holistically i.e. across society and government agencies?

  • Funded appropriately – Is program funding linked to the natural cycle of the underlying investment?  i.e. Municipal infrastructure has a different life cycle than education or unemployment insurance. 

  • Harness competition & innovation– Does it consider and appropriately harness competition and innovation to control the cost of public services? For example, can delivery costs be lowered through intelligent use of technology, demand management, public-private partnerships or third party delivery.

  • Affordability – Is there broad public support for the level of taxation that is required to support a program and does it appropriately control demand as well as supply?

  • Role of government – is there a legitimate and necessary role for government in this program area or activity, or could the private/voluntary sector play a greater role in whole or in part?

  • Efficiency –If the program or activity continues, how could its efficiency and effectiveness be improved?

  • Accountability – Are Canadians getting value for their tax dollars?

1. From the Mission Statement of the British Columbia Chamber of Commerce

2. “Taxation” includes all methods applied by government to raise revenue, whether or not a tax, government budgeting and the application of fiscal and monetary tools by government.