VANCOUVER—According to new figures released by the provincial government, tuition fees collected by the province will surpass corporate income taxes in 2011.

“The private sector profits handsomely from an educated workforce. Corporate taxes should help subsidize public education, not the other way around,” said Shamus Reid, Chairperson of Canadian Federation of Students-British Columbia (CFS-BC). 

Burdening families - by the numbers:

Tuition Fees (2001): $2,200

Tuition Fees (2009): $5,100

Tuition Fee Revenue to Government (2001): $452 million

Tuition Fee Revenue to Government (2011 forecast): $1.11 billion

Corporate Income Tax Revenue (2001): $1.52 billion

Corporate Income Tax Revenue (2011 forecast): $1.04 billion

“Make no mistake: this is a very dramatic shift in who pays in British Columbia. If you are a CEO of a large corporation, then celebrate. If you are an average income earner, you should be very concerned,” said Reid.

The latest numbers are found in the September provincial budget update.

The Canadian Federation of Students-British Columbia is BC’s provincial student organization, representing 150,000 university and college students at all levels of post-secondary education in BC. It is non-partisan and affiliated with Canada’s largest national student organization, the Canadian Federation of Students.

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