Despite this, he's not going to vote against the Supply Act

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More differences have emerged between the B.C. Greens and the NDP minority government.

This time, it's over tax policies.

"We have seen government talk about an employer's health tax," B.C. Green Leader Andrew Weaver said in today's legislature debate over the government's Supply Act. "We’ve seen government talk about a speculative tax. We’re not sure what they mean when they’re talking about it."

At the same time, Weaver emphasized that his three-member caucus will support the supply bill.

"Obviously, we must have a continuation of the government operating and all the schools and hospitals around this province," Weaver said. "Obviously we must support this bill. But we want government to stand back and reflect upon what it’s been doing."

The B.C. Greens promised to keep the NDP minority government in power as long as it stuck to the terms of an agreement reached between the two caucuses last year.

For the same reason, the B.C. Greens also chose not to bring the NDP government down when it decided to complete the $10.7-billion Site C dam, even though Weaver vehemently disagreed with that decision.

Today, Weaver pointed out that he initially believed the NDP's real-estate-speculation tax wasn't going to apply to British Columbians.

This was based on comments made by Premier John Horgan and Finance Minister Carole James in media scrums.

They said that the two percent tax on the assessed value of properties that are viewed as "speculative" wouldn't be imposed on residents of B.C.

But after seeing an interpretive bulletin about the tax, Weaver now realizes that British Columbians will receive a tax credit to cover the speculation tax.

It's expected to become law in a bill that will be introduced this fall.

Weaver declared that this tax credit would be of little use to seniors who don't have large incomes against which it could be claimed.

"You tell that to the constituents of mine or of other colleagues across who aren’t earning any income but happen to own a family cottage on a lake that happens to be in the boundary of Nanaimo Regional District or on one of the Gulf Islands," Weaver said. "Now that person is going to be charged $12,000 a year as a speculation tax [for property assessed at $600,000]. They’ll get a tax credit, sure, but they’ve got no income on which to apply that tax credit. How’s that a speculative tax?"

He accused the NDP government of looking upon the real-estate market as a source of new revenue rather than trying to eliminate speculation.

"We see projected budget increases, and then stabilization of revenue, coming from things like this so-called speculation tax," Weaver noted. "If it was a speculation tax, you would hope it’d go to zero. It’s being applied, in our sense, as a paper wealth tax.

"We feel that what’s happening here, honourable speaker, is that policy and finance and tax measures are being made up in press scrums," Weaver continued. "The market needs certainty. What are your outcomes? We have got a supply bill that’s made budget estimates assuming income from a speculation tax whose implementation has literally changed three times since the budget was announced."

Weaver questioned if the speculation tax will apply to Kelowna, where people rent out their homes to students for eight months of the year and then rent them to vacationers during the summer.

"This is critical for the Kelowna economy."

He claimed that the end result of NDP tax policy is a signal to the market that "it's going to be chaotic times ahead."

"We’re worried that the government is actually falling into the trap that they have branded on themselves over many years, which is one of not being able to be fiscally responsible with the money, the hard-earned taxpayers’ money, in our economy," Weaver said. "That is troubling. It’s very troubling."

Then he ripped into a proposed employer's health tax, which is going to replace revenue lost from the elimination of medical services premiums.

"Now we’ve got the MSP panel coming in with their final report clearly articulating that they don’t approve or recommend the direction government has taken," Weaver stated. "How’s government going to respond? They’ve boxed themselves into a corner. They’re going to respond in a way that going to hurt schools and hospitals all across this province."

He closed his speech by pleading with the government "to stop making up tax policy on the fly, in press conferences".

"Give us certainty, so we know what’s going on, and stop scaring people across the province," Weaver said.