A BC Budget phased elimination of provincial sales tax (PST) on industrial electricity is a step forward to protect and support mill jobs in BC, stated Catalyst Paper Corporation vice-president Len Posyniak in a media release.
BC finance minister Mike de Jong announced the tax elimination in the 2017 pre-election BC Budget on Tuesday, February 21. As of October 2017, the PST tax rate for power will drop to 3.5 per cent, followed by its elimination on April 1, 2019.
BC’s pulp and paper sector supports more than 5,600 jobs and the cut will help producers such as Catalyst reinvest in operations, stated Posyniak.
“This is good news at a critical time for our industry, and for Catalyst and the workers and communities who depend on our operations,” he stated.
City of Powell River mayor Dave Formosa stated in a media release that he welcomed the budget commitment to lower the tax rate. Formosa said the move would “support forestry jobs and the rural communities that depend on them.”
Electricity accounts for more than 30 per cent of mill production costs, according to Posyniak. Catalyst paid more than $138 million for power in 2015 and approximately $9.6 million in PST.
