Title page
Contents
Executive Summary 4
1. Introduction 5
2. The Provincial Sales Tax in British Columbia 7
3. The Provincial Sales Tax and Business Competitiveness 9
4. Complexity and Compliance Costs 13
5. The Gains from Moving to a VAT System 14
6. Impact of the Harmonized Sales Tax on Consumer Prices 16
7. Conclusion 21
References 22
About the Author 25
Acknowledgments 25
Publishing Information 26
About the Fraser Institute 27
Editorial Advisory Board 28
Table 1. METRs by province and industry, 2020 10
Table 2. METRs by province and type of asset, 2020 11
Table 3. Differences (percentage point) in consumer price changes between British Columbia and the other western provinces, June 2010 to March 2014 19
Table 4. Tax exemptions and tax expenditures under the provincial PST, 2013/14 19
Figure 1. Sources of British Columbia's government revenues, 2023/24 7
Figure 2. Revenue from general taxes on good and services, Canadian provinces, 2021 8
Figure 3. Impact of the PST on the METRs on machinery and equipment in British Columbia 12