Today, Kevin Falcon announced a plan to cut $5 billion in revenue out of the budget without saying where that would come from. But Kevin Falcon’s own comments are clear: reducing or eliminating the carbon tax would mean big tax hikes for people.

When he was Finance Minister, Falcon told CKNW:

“If we eliminate the carbon tax, of course, you would have to see a double digit increase in both small business taxes and personal income taxes.” (Aug. 15, 2012)

Two days later, he wrote in a Letter to the Editor in The Province:

“Eliminating the carbon tax as you suggest would create a revenue shortfall of just over $1 billion a year. We would need to raise other taxes to balance the budget, which could mean a 15-per-cent increase in personal income tax or an increase of 40 per cent or more in corporate income taxes.” (Aug. 17, 2012)

And his record in power is clear: he would make people pay more:

• As Health Minister, he cut $360 million from hospitals, which led to reductions in surgeries and MRIs;
• As Transportation Minister, he put unfair tolls on bridges and still insists that was “the right thing to do”;
• As Finance Minister, he hiked direct costs on people, including ICBC rates and MSP Premiums.

BC NDP Energy Minister Josie Osborne:

“Kevin Falcon will say anything to get elected. And he’s made it clear in the past that eliminating the carbon tax would mean higher taxes or cuts to services, or both. His record shows that he’ll cut funding for hospitals and schools while hiking fees like ICBC rates, bridge tolls, and MSP Premiums. Kevin Falcon would make life harder and more expensive for people, just like he did before.”