In a submission to the provincial government's Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services, the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce has made recommendations to reduce the tax burden on employers, increase industry-focused skills training programs, and to invest in more hand's-on supports for small businesses. 

This committee has been travelling BC collecting recommendations for consideration in the 2023 provincial budget.  Invited to make three recommendations, the Langley Chamber called for an increase to the exemption threshold for the Employer Health Tax, an increase in training programs to get more people working, and investment in more "hand's-on" supports for small businesses similar to the "Launch Online" grant from 2021.

Employer Health Tax

First, businesses with more than 500,000 in payroll must pay the Employer Health Tax, which in an era of salary increases and labour cost inflation is an additional burden on employers.  The Langley Chamber is calling for a doubling of the exemption to $1,000,000 to save more small businesses from having to pay the tax and saving all employers money. 

Skills Training

Second, finding workers is a top concern for Langley employers.  Creative skills training programs like the Community Workforce Response Grant provide opportunities to train underemployed people to directly fill local vacancies. However, these programs are oversubscribed.  Most funding should be prioritized to this and similar types of targeted, industry-focused skills training. 

Small Business Supports

Thirdly, too often government funding comes in the form of loans or general, high-level guidance.  The Langley Chamber recommends more effort be placed in targeted, "hand's on" supports for small and medium businesses, similar to the model used for the "Launch Online" e-commerce grant of 2021.   The Langley Chamber is advocating for similar programs focused on supporting businesses with go-to-market strategies, export opportunities, and cybersecurity improvements.   

Read our full submission to the Standing Committee here.