B.C. NDP proposes higher income tax rates for top earners, projecting $1 billion a year in revenue

B.C. residents with taxable incomes above $190,405 would pay more provincial income tax under a B.C. NDP proposal that the party says would eventually raise $1 billion a year. Premier David Eby announced the plan on the evening of Oct. 4, ahead of the party’s rally in downtown Victoria. The changes would start in the 2027 tax year if the B.C. NDP is re-elected in the provincial election on Oct. 24, 2026. The party estimates the increases would affect 3.88 per cent of B.C. income earners, leaving more than 96 per cent without an increase. Eby said the party wants everyone to prosper and believes it is fair to ask those at the top to contribute more when people are struggling.

The proposal would raise rates by two percentage points in the existing top two tax brackets and add a bracket for annual taxable income above $1 million. The rate on income between $190,405 and $265,545 would rise from 16.8 per cent to 18.8 per cent. The rate on income between $265,545 and $1 million would rise from 20.5 per cent to 22.5 per cent, and income above $1 million would be taxed at 24.5 per cent. The higher rates would apply only to income within each bracket. Everyone, including people earning more than $1 million, would continue to pay the existing rates on their first $190,405. Federal income tax would remain separate.

At $200,000 in taxable income, the two-per-cent increase would apply to $9,595 above the first $190,405, adding about $192 to the annual provincial income tax bill based on the announced rates. Someone with $250,000 in taxable income would pay about $1,192 more a year. At $1.5 million, the increase would be about $36,192, including the higher rate on income above $1 million.

The new revenue is expected to build over several fiscal years. The B.C. NDP projects an additional $225 million in 2026/27, $925 million in 2027/28 and $1 billion in 2028/29. The party says the money could help fund health-care improvements and new affordability measures.

The provincial government is facing deficits and rising debt amid increased spending and lower revenues. A September 2026 fiscal update projects a deficit of $13.8 billion this year, followed by $12.7 billion in 2027/28 and $12 billion in 2028/29. Provincial debt is expected to reach $180.9 billion by the end of this fiscal year and nearly $236 billion before the end of the decade. When Eby became premier in late 2022, provincial debt was about $89 billion. The B.C. NDP says B.C. would still have the second-lowest provincial income tax bill among the provinces for someone earning $250,000, the third-lowest at $400,000 and the fifth-lowest at $500,000.

The Conservative Party of British Columbia issued a statement opposing the proposed tax increase, saying it could prompt more people, including sought-after professionals, to leave the province. The party said B.C. needs more doctors and accused Eby’s plan of driving doctors away. It said he had promised every British Columbian a family doctor by the end of 2025, while emergency rooms were still closing at night and communities were trying to recruit doctors and specialists. Last week, Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson pledged that, if elected, his party would introduce no new provincial taxes and raise no existing ones. The party’s statement said a government led by Doerkson would make B.C. a place where doctors choose to practise.

The Conservatives also pointed to this year’s increase in B.C.’s lowest provincial income tax rate, from 5.06 per cent to 5.6 per cent. The new rate applies to the first $50,363 of taxable income in 2026, so it also affects people earning more than that amount. The budget also increased personal tax credits, including raising the maximum B.C. tax reduction credit for lower-income residents by $115 to $690. The source says these changes at least partly offset the higher rate for some taxpayers.

The Conservatives also criticized the freeze on income tax brackets. The B.C. NDP-led government has suspended annual inflation adjustments to bracket thresholds for the 2027 through 2030 tax years, with adjustments scheduled to resume in 2031. Without those adjustments, a worker whose pay rises only enough to keep pace with inflation could still have more income fall into a higher bracket despite having no greater purchasing power. Earlier in the campaign, the B.C. NDP also promised a new tax on developers holding vacant, unsold, newly built strata ownership condominiums.