Small businesses welcome B.C.'s decision to pause PST expansion

Vancouver, September 18, 2026 – The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) welcomes the B.C. government's decision to pause the planned expansion of the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) to essential professional services, which was set to take effect October 1.

The announcement comes after months of advocacy from small business owners. Nearly 5,000 signed CFIB's petition calling on the province to scrap the tax hike, and last month a multi-party legislative committee recommended repealing it outright in its Budget 2027 consultation report.

"This is a win for the thousands of small business owners who signed our petition and refused to let this tax hike go through quietly," said Samantha Howard, Vice-President, Legislative Affairs, Western Canada, CFIB. "Expanding the PST to essential professional services would have added more than $500 million in annual costs onto B.C. businesses and consumers at a time when few can afford it."

CFIB's campaign against the expansion included:

• Nearly 5,000 petition signatures from B.C. small business owners
• A submission to the Budget 2027 consultation showing 80% of businesses surveyed opposed the expansion and 72% were likely to pass the cost on to customers
• Joint advocacy with other business and non-profit organizations, including public engagement and direct outreach to government
• Meetings with mayors, councillors and municipal staff throughout the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) convention this week

"A pause is not a cancellation," added Howard. "Small business owners can't plan, price or sign contracts around a tax that might come back next year. Government should finish the job and take this off the books permanently."

Small business owners can keep adding their names at cfib.ca/bcpst.

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For media enquiries or interviews, please contact:

Kalith Nanayakkara, CFIB

Kalith.Nanayakkara@cfib.ca

About CFIB

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada's largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 103,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners' chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca.