[EXCERPT]
How will businesses benefit? The Liberals say business groups believe the PST inhibits investment and that the B.C. Business Council asked for a “bold PST cut” in July. The business council asked for the PST to be cut in half for two years to kickstart the economy. Jock Finlayson, the council’s senior vice-president, said what the Liberals are proposing is a “bigger step” with a “bigger fiscal price tag.” Still, he believes the “extraordinary” move is necessary because the province is still down 150,000 jobs, more companies are expected to close, and the economy is not expected to fully recover until mid-2022. The PST cut could “reduce a lot of this carnage,” he said, but the revenue will need eventually to be replaced.
