Related Initiatives and Planning Processes

Regulatory Reform

The ministry has undertaken a variety of activities that support the government-wide regulatory reform initiative. Since the start of the deregulation program in June 2001, the ministry's efforts have resulted in a significant reduction in the amount of information required of taxpayers. Customer service has been improved by streamlining reporting requirements and making the completion of required forms easier. Forms have been revised, reporting requirements combined and unnecessary forms eliminated. This reduces the cost of doing business with government by making it easier, faster and more efficient to deal with government and enhances ministry efficiency.

The following provides several examples of the ministry's most significant deregulation and regulatory reform initiatives for the period of this service plan.

• Zero per cent increase to regulatory burden through 2007/08. At a minimum, the ministry will maintain regulatory requirements at the June 2004 baseline. The ministry's forms will continue to be monitored and reviewed to maintain the benefits that have been achieved over the last three years. New forms will only be introduced after careful scrutiny to ensure that as few regulatory requirements as possible are introduced. The ministry will continue to focus on improving customer service by streamlining reporting requirements and making the completion of required forms easier.
• Regulatory reform. In response to the commitment in the government's strategic plan, the ministry will launch a comprehensive review of British Columbia's social service tax policies and legislation to develop revenue-neutral options for simplifying, streamlining and enhancing fairness. In addition, the ministry will develop and implement regulatory changes to resolve grace period variances and consolidate the number of interest rate schedules used for the calculation of interest on the late payment of financial obligations. The application of consistent policies and procedures will reduce confusion and increase fairness and equity for taxpayers. Proposed amendments to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Royalty and Freehold Production Tax Regulation will reduce the regulatory and reporting burden on oil producers, will increase the accuracy of returns and will facilitate electronic delivery of oil royalty information.

Overview of Human Resource Management and Information Resource Management Plans

The ministry's Human Resource Plan (HRP) and Information Resource Management Plan (IRMP) support the achievement of all ministry goals. An overview of these plans is available on the ministry website at http://www.rev.gov.bc.ca/budget/HRP.pdf (HRP) and http://www.rev.gov.bc.ca/budget/IRMP.pdf (IRMP).

The existing HRP and IRMP reflect the priorities of the former Ministry of Provincial Revenue. Both of these plans will be reviewed and revised, as required, over the course of the 2005/06 fiscal year to reflect the ministry's new responsibilities and structure as of June 2005.