It seems in BC that both the Federal and Provincial Government can’t keep their hands out of the pockets of employers.
MSP Corporate Taxes effective January 1, 2019
Most Employers were hit with paying double premiums for MSP in 2019.
“In order to recover the revenue lost by eliminating the MSP premiums, the government will implement an Employer Health Tax effective January 1, 2019, for employers with a total annual payroll exceeding $500,000. This means that employers who pay their employees’ MSP premiums will be paying both the MSP premiums and the EHT for 1 year before the MSP premiums are eliminated.
Charities and non-profits will pay EHT when total annual payroll exceeds $1,500,000, and this threshold will be applied to each location of the organization with BC payroll.
Annual payroll includes bonuses, vacation pay, taxable benefits and other taxable payments to employees. See Employer Health Tax on the government of BC website.”
Since Covid, the Government is talking about giving employees 10 days paid sick leave without requiring a note from the Doctor. As per the article I have attached, it looks like the cost burden will fall to the Employers.
Not just paying for an employee sick day but paying to replace that employee or loss of productivity.
The first premium bump was in 2019, another was earlier this year and the next is due at the beginning of next year, January 2021. The Provincial Governments have been quietly prodding the Federal Government that this increase be put off for now.
Wage Increases
Employees would like to have their wages increased so they at least keep up with inflation.
How much has this cost Employer’s ensuring that their employee’s and clients stay safe? Some Employers have told me that the cost to them has exceeded $50,000. Employee’s being off due to isolation or contracting Covid. This cost has to be factored in as well.
Some Employer’s can’t find workers. I was waiting for a package and when I called UPS they said they didn’t have enough workers to unload and reload trailers. They couldn’t give me any idea when it would arrive. This is just one example.
One positive this year is I have been delivering quite a few decreases in premium at time of renewal. As per last week’s Blog, premiums returned due to Employers who have participated in Administrative Services Only (ASO).
If you would like to review your Employee Benefit Package and ensure you are paying a competitive premium for a comprehensive product, please contact Glendinning Insurance Services at 250-764-0142.
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