Premier David Eby said his government is delaying the planned expansion of the provincial sales tax to a range of professional services amid ongoing trade uncertainty.
The changes were set to take effect Oct. 1.
Eby’s announcement drew applause from local government leaders gathered at the Union of B.C. Municipalities conference in Vancouver on Friday.
He said the government won’t go forward with the PST expansion until the province is no longer facing uncertainty from the Canada-U.S. trade war.
The province had announced during its Budget 2026 release in February that the PST would be applied to a range of professional services, such as accounting and bookkeeping.
Architectural services, engineering and geoscience services, non-residential real estate services and security services would also be subject to the tax.
Business and industry groups called on the province to halt the PST expansion, saying it would mean higher costs for everything from retail security to mining development.
In August, B.C. legislature committee made up of government and opposition MLAs also recommended repealing the PST expansion to profession services, after province-wide consultations on the next budget.
The expansion was expected to increase the province’s annual revenues by about $261 million this fiscal year and well over $500 million in the following two years.
The latest quarterly budget update shows the province is now expecting a deficit of nearly $13.8 billion, up from the $13.3 billion deficit forecast in the initial budget.
