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	September Update Budget 2005


		CONTENTS

	•	Message from the Minister and Accountability Statement
	•	Ministry Overview and Core Business Areas
	•	Resource Summary
	•	Strategic Context
	•	Goals, Objectives, Strategies and Results
	•	Related Initiatives and Planning Processes
	•	Appendix A: Glossary
	•	Appendix B: Legislation Administered by the Ministry
	•	Appendix C: British Columbia/Canada Revenue Agency Work Plan Summary


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		Ministry of Small Business and Revenue
		September Update Budget 2005 Home

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Ministry Overview and Core Business Areas

Ministry Overview

The Ministry of Small Business and Revenue was established in June of 2005¹ with a mandate to foster a competitive environment for small business² and investment in all regions of British Columbia, and provide a center of excellence to the Province of British Columbia for revenue management. The ministry is also responsible for advancing regulatory reform across government and managing and supporting property assessment appeal processes. The ministry is committed to providing all of its services to British Columbians in a fair, equitable and timely manner.

Small business plays a vital role in all areas of British Columbia's economy. In British Columbia, small business is responsible for a full 58 per cent of all private sector jobs, 30 per cent of provincial GDP or approximately $37 billion, and constitutes 98 per cent of all businesses in the province. The ministry, working with partners, implements strategies and initiatives that support small business start up and growth.

Regulatory reform is a key component of the government's overall strategy to make British Columbia an economic and business leader. Over the last four years, the provincial government has successfully reduced the regulatory burden on British Columbians by 37 per cent.³ The ministry is responsible for leading regulatory reform across government, making it easier and more efficient for individuals and businesses to deal with government.

The revenues managed by the ministry, $18.4 billion in 2004/05 or 56 per cent of all revenues received by the Province, support the provision of vital government programs such as health care, education, transportation and social services. The ministry's strategic focus is on promoting voluntary compliance with the financial obligations that result from the legislation it administers⁴ and improving government revenue management.

The ministry provides revenue management services⁵ to other ministries. The ministry also collects taxes and fees for local governments and other agencies. The ministry represents British Columbia in its relationship with the Canada Revenue Agency⁶ and the Canada Border Services Agency with respect to the taxation statutes they administer on behalf of the Province. This ensures that revenue due to the Province is identified and received in a timely manner.

The ministry has an alliance with a private sector firm for the delivery of a consolidated revenue management system.⁷ This alliance allows the ministry to maximize technology and investment capital to improve a wide range of government revenue management processes including, streamlining the way government collects revenue and improving customer service. As a provincial center of excellence for revenue management, additional revenue systems across government will be consolidated into this new centralized system.

A key focus of the ministry is service excellence. Earlier this year, the Taxpayer Fairness and Service Code was developed in partnership with small business organizations across British Columbia.⁸ The Taxpayer Fairness and Service Code details a taxpayer's right to timely customer service, courtesy, respect, fair treatment and confidentiality in all their dealings with the ministry.


¹	In June 2005, the former Ministry of Provincial Revenue was amalgamated with the Regulatory Reform Office, and business units from the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management and the Ministry of Small Business and Economic Development. New responsibilities include property assessment and appeals services, and small business advice, information and advocacy.
²	A small business has fewer than 50 employees or is operated by a person who is self-employed without paid help. Refer to Appendix A for definitions of terms used.
³	Government regulations have decreased from 382,000 in June 2001 to 240,000 June 2004.
⁴	Refer to Appendix B for a list of legislation administered by the Ministry of Small Business and Revenue.
⁵	Services include account management, billing, payment and remittance possessing and debt collection.
⁶	Refer to Appendix C for the British Columbia/Canada Revenue Agency Work Plan Summary.
⁷	View the Revenue Management Project Summary Report online at http://www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/rmp_summary_report.pdf.
⁸	For more information on the Taxpayer Fairness and Service Code view online at http://www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/fairness/. Partner organizations include the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, British Columbia Chamber of Commerce, Retail Merchants’ Association of British Columbia, Retail Council of Canada, Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia and Sales Tax Practitioners Liaison Committee.

Core Business Areas and Structure

The ministry relies on the integration of its five core business areas to deliver its services and achieve its goals and objectives. The ministry's organizational structure supports the delivery of the services, programs and key initiatives of each core business area. Figure 1 provides an overview of the ministry's organizational structure and primary responsibilities.

1. Small Business and Regulatory Reform

Small Business and Regulatory Reform is responsible for initiatives that contribute to small business growth and advance regulatory reform across government. This business area provides services, products and tools that support small business success. It works with partners and stakeholders at all levels of government and with the private sector to provide advice, information and advocacy on issues impacting on small businesses. This includes establishing a Small Business Roundtable that will provide ongoing advice to government.

Approximately $1,205,000 and 9 FTEs⁹ have been allocated to this core business area.


⁹	FTEs — fulltime equivalent employment is the estimate of a ministry’s annual staff utilization. The term fulltime equivalent is defined as the employment of one person for one full year or the equivalent (for example, the employment of two persons for six months each).

2. Revenue Programs

Revenue Programs is responsible for administration, compliance and enforcement activities for taxes, fees and natural resource royalties for the province. This includes audit assessments, tax refunds, and the administration of tax credit and benefit programs. Natural resource revenue administration includes the collection of royalties, freehold production taxes and resource management fees levied on the production of minerals, oil and gas. This business area provides a single point of accountability for service delivery for each of the tax statutes it administers. It promotes voluntary compliance with tax obligations and ensures that British Columbians receive the revenue that they are due through quality customer service, education and compliance programs.

Provincial taxpayers — individuals, the business community and industry — are the primary customer base serviced by Revenue Programs

Approximately $44,979,000 and 526 FTEs have been allocated to this core business area.

3. Revenue Services

Revenue Services provides revenue management services for the ministry, its partner ministries and their customers. This includes account management, billing, payment and remittance processing, and debt collection for all programs that the ministry oversees for the Province. This business area also manages and collects revenues resulting from invoices the Ministry of Forests issues to its forest industry clients, and manages trust security deposits for tenure agreements.These services are provided through a combination of in-house services and a private sector service provider that is managed through the ministry's Alliance Management Office. A key focus for Revenue Services is the management of the ministry's alliance with EDS Advanced Solutions Inc., ensuring appropriate oversight while facilitating the success of the alliance on behalf of the ministry.

Provincial taxpayers and client ministries are the primary customer base served by Revenue Services.

Approximately $52,079,000 and 131 FTEs have been allocated to this core business area.

4. Property Assessment Services

Property Assessment Services manages Property Assessment Review Panels across the province and supports the management of the Property Assessment Appeal Board. These review bodies ensure that property assessments are accurate, at actual value, and are applied in a consistent manner within a municipality or rural area. Working with BC Assessment, local taxation authorities and property owners, they resolve disputes over the assessment roll. Property Assessment Services leads the review and development of strategic property assessment policy and legislation.

Property owners — individuals, businesses and industry — municipalities and BC Assessment are the primary customer base served by Property Assessment Services

Approximately $2,508,000 and 13 FTEs have been allocated to this core business area.

5. Executive and Support Services

Executive and Support Services consists of the Minister's Office, Deputy Minister's Office, strategic initiatives and administration, policy and legislation, and appeals and litigation services. Key programs and services of this business area focus on the effective and efficient provision of corporate functions that assist the ministry in achieving its goals and objectives. This includes the provision of financial management, human resource services, strategic planning, performance reporting, information technology management, and legislative and policy support to all core business areas of the ministry. This business area also provides customer service and taxpayer information, administers investigative operations directed towards enforcement of provincial taxation statutes, and conducts impartial tax appeals reviews.

Provincial taxpayers, legislators, other ministries and Ministry of Small Business and Revenue employees are the primary customers served by Executive and Support Services.

Approximately $38,615,000 and 180 FTEs are allocated to this core business area.