Abbotsford/Victoria – The Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce is calling on the Province to immediately scrap its planned expansion of the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) to professional services, warning the move will increase costs, hurt investment, and weaken B.C.’s competitiveness.
The policy, announced in Budget 2026 and expected to generate more than $500 million annually, amounts to a direct tax on essential business inputs.
Starting October 1, PST will apply to services such as accounting, engineering, security, and commercial real estate, with a partial tax base applied to architectural and engineering work.
“This is a tax on doing business – plain and simple,” said Alex Mitchell, CEO of the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce. “It raises costs at every stage of operations and makes it harder for businesses to invest, grow, and compete.”
Because PST is not recoverable like GST or HST, it creates a cascading “tax on a tax,” embedding costs throughout the supply chain and driving up final prices.
The Chamber warns the impacts will be immediate and widespread:
- Higher operating costs on essential, non-optional services
- New administrative burden as businesses manage a second tax system
- A tax on safety, increasing the cost of security amid rising theft and vandalism
- Higher rents and project costs, as taxes on property and professional services flow through the economy
“This policy doesn’t just affect one sector, it hits every business, particularly small businesses,” Mitchell added. “It will be felt in higher costs, reduced investment, and slower growth across the economy. At a time of economic uncertainty, government should be reducing barriers to growth, not adding new ones”
The Chamber also raised concerns about competitiveness across Canada. Businesses in Alberta face no provincial sales tax, while other provinces allow businesses to recover input taxes, putting B.C. firms at a clear disadvantage.
The Abbotsford Chamber has formally written to the Minister of Finance urging the Province to reconsider the measure before it takes effect.
“There is still time to change course,” Mitchell said. “Scrapping this policy would remove a significant cost pressure and send a clear signal that B.C. is open for business.”
