(Recasts throughout; adds details on budget, quotes from B.C.
finance minister)
By Julie Gordon
VICTORIA, British Columbia, Feb 16 (Reuters) - British
Columbia on Tuesday projected a budget surplus of C$264 million
in fiscal 2016-17, the province's fourth consecutive balanced
budget under the ruling Liberals, and unveiled measures to boost
affordability in Vancouver's hot housing market.
The surplus is projected at C$287 million in 2017-18 and
C$373 million in 2018-19, the government said. The revised
surplus for 2015-16 is now seen at C$377 million, up from a
previous projection of C$265 million.
The government attributed the stronger-than-expected
performance to growth in retail sales, housing starts and
employment, but warned that low commodity prices and slowing
external demand will weigh on exports into the next year.
Finance Minister Michael de Jong also announced new measures
aimed at tackling red hot real estate markets, mainly in the
Vancouver area, including adding a higher tier to the property
transfer tax and plans to collect citizenship data from home
buyers.
The budget also included extra money for vulnerable youth
and people with disabilities, more funding to support small
towns' economies and cuts to medical premiums for lower-income
persons.
De Jong's tone was muted on the nascent liquefied natural
gas industry, as the government that pledged it would have three
LNG terminals operating by 2020 is forced to come to grips with
delays to projects proposed by major players like Malaysia's
Petronas PETR.UL and Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L .
"Though we have seen important and substantive progress in
the development of an LNG industry in B.C, we have not included
LNG projects in our projections at this time," said de Jong in
his budget speech.
Despite not having a single natural gas export plant under
construction, the province said it would launch a promised LNG
Prosperity Fund, funneling C$100 million from the 2015-16
surplus into the account.
The fund - geared at reducing the provincial debt, investing
in key services like healthcare and education, and saving for
the future - is supposed to be funded by LNG taxes and
royalties.
British Columbia, which has an AAA credit rating, said total
debt is forecast to reach C$67.7 billion in 2016-17, C$69.9
billion in 2017-18, and C$71.9 billion in 2018-19. The
debt-to-GDP ratio, which peaked at 17.9 percent in 2013-14, is
expected to fall to 16.3 percent in 2018-19.
(Editing by Alan Crosby and Sandra Maler)