Advertisers


February 27, 2006
Luxury for less

Earlier, we noted the provincial government surtax on passenger vehicles priced over $49,000 would now only apply to cars and trucks valued at more than $55,000 - which means you can buy your BMW Z4 Roadsters and the Jaguar X-Types for a whole lot less. But, interestingly, this isn't the first time the Cambell administration has upped that surtax threshhold. In Finance Minister Colin Hansen's February 2005 budget, it increased from $47,000 to $49,000, costing taxpayers $5 million in annual revenue. And Gary Collins's July 2001 economic and fiscal update increased that threshhold from $32,000 to $47,000 at a cost of $40 million in revenue. Of course, it is entirely coincidental that the British Columbia Automobile Dealers Association (now the New Car Dealers Association of British Columbia) has contributed $391,269 to Liberal coffers since 1999, including a whopping $150,299 during the recent election.

Posted by Sean Holman at 12:03 PM
Permanent link

Thank you for taking the trouble to look that up, Sean. I vaguely remembered the earlier change that Gary Collins made. When you put all three changes in sequence like that, however, it's very clear why these changes are being made and who is benefitting!

Posted by Name on February 27, 2006 03:54 PM

Uh, have you seen how much it is to buy a good truck these days. You know, for the workin' man, a deisel F350 isn't a luxury. It's a necessity. Actually, it's a right. I can't stand Gordon Campbell and his freaky Liberal ways, but I can't argue with this one. Not everyone lives in Vancouver, plays bongo drums, has an inordinately large dog, and drives a moped.

Posted by Dagmar on February 27, 2006 04:48 PM

Dagmar, it is not your RIGHT to ruin the environment. But why even bother responding to you. You are a troll!

Posted by West Coast Greeny on February 27, 2006 09:51 PM

A Beamer, jag or monster truck in every garage? That's our right -- a necessity -- not a privilege?

If people need trucks or other vehicles for employment, there are existing tax mechanisms to defray the costs. Why should our tax structure reward those who pollute unnecessarily or who choose to drive luxury vehicles?


Posted by Name on February 28, 2006 08:44 AM

This was done to help out the 'working' man? That's good to know because I thought maybe it had something to do with paying back the car dealers who contributed to the Liberal coffers.

Posted by O'Really on February 28, 2006 11:19 AM




Remember me?

(You may use HTML tags for style)

wanted: hearsay & innuendo Site Search

category archives

At the Rockpile
Broken News
Creatures of Government
Fighting Words
From the Gallery
Letter from the Editor
Loose Lips
Off the Hill
Public Eye Radio

monthly archives

December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004

syndication

RSS 2.0
Atom Feed