BC Budget 2015 snapshot: More revenue from MSP, tuition, but less money for public services

One way to measure a government’s commitment to public services is to see what percentage of the province’s wealth (GDP) the government spends on these services. According to government plans outlined in the Budget Documents:

• Health care spending will fall from 7.9% of GDP in 2012/13 to 7.5% in 2017/18.
• Education spending falls from 5.6% in 2009/10 to 4.7% in 2017/18.
• Spending on social services falls from 1.8% in 2012/13 to 1.5% in 2017/18.

Another disturbing fact from BC Budget 2015: The three fastest growing significant areas of revenue for the provincial government are Medical Services Plan premiums (5.9% increase), revenue from tuition fees (5.9% increase) and revenue from BC Hydro (7.6% increase). In 2008/09 MSP premiums equaled about 70% of the revenue from corporate taxes. In this year’s Budget, MSP premiums equal more than 90% of the revenue from corporate taxes. MSP premiums have risen by more than half since 2008/09.

Photo by One Way Stock on Flickr.

Topics: Provincial budget & finance