AAA Credit to continue says major credit rating agency
By Contributor
Standard & Poor’s Rating Services has confirmed the Province’s AAA credit rating will continue after British Columbians voted to bring back the PST plus GST tax system, Finance Minister Kevin Falcon announced Sunday.
Standard & Poor’s noted the Province has the solid revenue and expenditure flexibility necessary to meet its deficit targets and a moderate tax-supported debt burden.
They added that the challenges facing British Columbia are the need to address the loss in revenue, initial administrative costs of transitioning back to a PST plus GST tax system and the likelihood the Province will be required to repay $1.6 billion in HST transitional funding provided by the federal government.
“During this time of global economic uncertainty, our credit rating is more important than ever and we will continue to manage taxpayer dollars responsibly while we focus on strengthening our economy and creating jobs,” said Falcon in a statement.
