Goals, Objectives, Strategies and Performance Measures

The Ministry’s goals are multi-year commitments and are consistent with government priorities and the Ministry’s mandate. This section outlines the objectives, strategies, performance measures and targets that will lead the Ministry toward achieving each goal.

Performance Plan Summary Table⁴

The following diagram demonstrates the linkages between the Ministry’s goals, objectives and performance measures.

Ministry Goals		Ministry Objectives		Performance Measures
1. Service meets the needs of customers and partners.		1. Fair and efficient administration, and quality service.		1. Success in meeting service excellence standards.
2. The most small business friendly jurisdiction in Canada.		1. A business climate where small business prospers.		2. Availability of BizPal to communities.
3. Amounts owed to government are paid.		1. Individuals and businesses understand their entitlements and obligations, and pay the correct amount on time.		3. Percentage of amounts owed to government paid.
		2. The Province receives the outstanding amounts owed.		4. Percentage of incremental revenue target achieved.
				5. Percentage of overdue accounts collected.
4. A global leader in regulatory reform.		1. A streamlined and simplified regulatory environment.		6. Regulatory burden — Government-wide regulatory requirements.

Goal 1: Service meets the needs of customers and partners

The Ministry is committed to continuous improvement in service excellence — providing prompt, quality service meeting the needs of its diverse customers and partners, and the service excellence standards set out in the Taxpayer Fairness and Service Code (4th Edition). This commitment includes simplifying, streamlining and enhancing the fairness of the Ministry’s regulatory environment, tax legislation and administrative processes.

Objective 1.1: Fair and efficient administration, and quality service

This objective reflects the Ministry’s focus on providing service excellence and improving its legislative, regulatory and administrative frameworks. Supporting government’s priorities, Ministry strategies will contribute to enhanced economic and business competitiveness.

Strategies

• Enhance British Columbia’s competitiveness by simplifying, streamlining and enhancing the fairness of legislative, regulatory and administrative frameworks.
• Deliver customer service that meets or exceeds established Ministry service excellence standards.
• Enhance eServices for non-tax revenue management.

Performance Measure 1: Proportion of service excellence standards met

Discussion

This measure reports on the Ministry’s success in meeting performance targets established for service excellence standards detailed in the Taxpayer Fairness and Service Code (4th Edition). The service excellence standards were developed in consultation with British Columbia business organizations. Meeting these service excellence standards reflects the Ministry’s success in delivering services that are a priority to customers and partners. Over time, the Ministry will add to or improve its service excellence standards based on consultation with the business community and feedback from taxpayers. Service standards address issues such as timeliness, accessibility and customer satisfaction for a broad range of ministry services and programs, including among others:

• Responding to correspondence sent to the Minister, Deputy Minister and Assistant Deputy Minister within 14 days of receipt (timeliness);
• Having helpful information about the Ministry’s programs available on the website 24 hours a day, every day (accessibility); and
• Ensuring satisfaction of at least 90 per cent with sales, hotel, fuel or tobacco tax audit experience (customer satisfaction).

Appendix C contains the standards, including respective performance and targets. A standard is considered ‘met’ if, over the twelve months of the fiscal year, performance meets or exceeds the established target.

Goal 2: The most small business friendly jurisdiction in Canada

Small business is a significant driver of British Columbia’s economic growth and is vital to the province’s economic success. The Ministry recognizes the importance of the small business sector and supports a business climate in British Columbia where small business prospers — improving the province’s competitiveness as a place to live, invest, and create jobs. The Ministry is a champion for small business in government and works with other ministries, partners and the small business community to implement strategies and initiatives to support small business. This work makes a significant contribution to government’s Great Goal to create more jobs per capita than anywhere else in Canada.

Objective 2.1: A business climate in which small business prospers

This objective reflects the Ministry’s commitment to implement initiatives⁵ to support small business, and make British Columbia the most small business-friendly provincial jurisdiction in Canada.

Strategies

• Provide an effective forum to hear directly from the small business community through the Small Business Roundtable.
• Implement solutions to address small business concerns and support small business start-up and growth.
• Raise the profile of small business opportunities, and highlight and celebrate the contribution of small business to the economy and communities.
• Maintain and build partnerships with federal and municipal governments and key organizations to leverage resources to offer services, products and tools to entrepreneurs.

Performance Measure 2: Availability of BizPal to communities

Discussion

This measure reflects the Ministry’s commitment to implement initiatives that assist in making British Columbia the most small business-friendly provincial jurisdiction in Canada and supporting small business start-up and growth. The BizPal online tool provides small businesses with access to permits and licences they require from federal, provincial and local government, from one access point. Implementation of BizPal is a partnership between the province, municipalities and the federal government. Targets for this measure are based on planned progress to have BizPal implemented by all local governments (cities, towns) by the end of 2009/10, expanding implementation to all regional districts by the end of 2010/11.

As noted in the 2007/08 – 2009/10 Service Plan, a new measure has been identified with the implementation of the Action Plan for Small Business. The Ministry is now focusing on achievement of one of the priority strategies in the Action Plan — making the BizPal online tool available across the province.

Goal 3: Amounts owed to government are paid

The Ministry identifies and collects amounts owed to government through fair, efficient and effective tax administration and revenue management processes. The Ministry manages revenue in relation to statutes it directly administers and, increasingly, statutes administered by other ministries. These revenues support the provision of important government programs and services — such as health care, education, social services and transportation — for British Columbians. Successful achievement of this goal depends on the voluntary payment of financial obligations, balanced by education, assistance, audit, compliance and collection activities.

Performance Measure 3: Percentage of amounts owed to government paid

Discussion

This measure reports on the success of the Ministry in collecting all amounts under its administration owed to government in a specific fiscal year. This measure includes amounts owed to government where the Ministry is responsible for both revenue and debt collection functions. As such, this measure reports on approximately 65 per cent of the total revenue and debt administered by the Ministry. For example, it excludes revenue and debt collections for personal and corporate income tax collected by the Canada Revenue Agency on behalf of the Province.

Objective 3.1: Individuals and businesses understand their entitlements and obligations, and pay the correct amount on time

This objective focuses on increasing the receipt of revenue through voluntary compliance. Voluntary compliance, the most efficient and effective means of administering revenue owed to government, means individuals and businesses meet their financial obligations without Ministry intervention through audit, compliance or collection activities. Increased voluntary compliance results in additional funds available to support government programs and services.

The Ministry’s success in meeting this objective is dependent on the willingness and ability of customers to pay the correct amount on time. It is expected voluntary compliance will increase during periods of strong economic growth, and if individuals and businesses can easily identify and understand their financial obligations to government.

Strategies

• Assist British Columbians to better understand their financial obligations to government; improving service and information to the public.
• Provide a centre of excellence for revenue management in government and work with ministries to transition their revenue management functions to the Ministry’s centralized revenue management system.

Objective 3.2: The Province receives the outstanding amounts owed

This objective focuses on identifying and collecting outstanding revenues owed to the Province through audit, compliance and collection activities. These activities educate taxpayers and debtors on their obligations, deter customers who might otherwise avoid paying, and contribute to increasing voluntary compliance. To promote fairness, the Ministry seeks to identify and collect all outstanding amounts when a taxpayer fails to meet their obligations, either willfully or due to an error, thereby leveling the playing field for the majority of British Columbians who meet their financial obligations to government voluntarily.

Strategies

• Focus audits on areas of highest risk of non-compliance.
• Conduct compliance and audit activities to ensure British Columbia businesses are not at a tax disadvantage compared to out-of-province counterparts operating in British Columbia.
• Explore further opportunities for applying technological solutions to improve audit practices.
• Improve collaboration and accountability across jurisdictions to pursue joint tax enforcement activities to help ensure revenue due to the Province is identified and received in a timely manner.
• Improve practices used to collect outstanding amounts owed to government.

Performance Measure 4: Percentage of incremental revenue target achieved

Discussion

This measure is an indication of the Ministry’s success in identifying outstanding amounts owed to government through audit and compliance activities. These amounts identified are incremental revenue. Incremental revenue targets are approved annually by Treasury Board as required under the Balanced Budget and Ministerial Accountability Act. Achievement of the annual target is a key accountability of the Minister of Small Business and Revenue.

Performance Measure 5: Percentage of overdue accounts collected

Discussion

This measure reports the percentage of overdue amounts owed to government recovered through the Ministry’s debt collection activities, providing an indication of the effectiveness of these activities.

Goal 4: A global leader in regulatory reform

The Ministry leads government’s Regulatory Reform Initiative to create a modern, effective and responsive regulatory regime, while preserving those regulations effective in protecting health, safety and the environment. The Ministry works with ministries across government to minimize unnecessary government involvement in the lives of British Columbians, improving service to citizens, business and industry, and increasing British Columbia’s economic and business competitiveness.

Objective 4.1: A streamlined and simplified regulatory environment

Regulatory reform is a key component of government’s overall strategy to make British Columbia an economic and business leader. Government’s Regulatory Reform Initiative focuses on reducing regulatory burden by reducing overall regulatory requirements and streamlining government programs, services and processes.

Government’s regulatory reform achievements have reduced regulatory burden and created a more streamlined regulatory environment. This saves British Columbians time and money, and reduces administrative costs for government. Continued improvement in the regulatory climate is a key requirement for attracting new investment and building a competitive economy.

The Regulatory Reform Initiative has been enhanced to include a focus on reducing the steps and time required by citizens, businesses and industry to access government programs and services or comply with government requirements.

Strategies

• Build capacity within the public service for regulatory reform.
• Monitor and publicly report on the progress of regulatory reform across government. Reporting includes progress on reducing regulatory burden, and achievements to date to save individuals, small business and industry time and steps when accessing government services or complying with requirements.
• Work with other levels of government to advance regulatory reform to reduce costly duplication and encourage small business growth.

Performance Measure 6: Number of government-wide regulatory requirements

Discussion

The Ministry tracks the number of regulatory requirements across government to determine the regulatory burden on British Columbians. Ministries and agencies are expected to maintain their June 2004 regulatory achievements, with a target of zero net increase in government-wide regulations to 2012. The targets reflect government’s commitment to exercise diligence to maintain achievements in regulatory reduction realized in the first five years of the Regulatory Reform Initiative.