WORKING FOR A LIVING WAGE - 2023 Technical Appendix

For communities who are new to the calculation this year, the value of government transfers is based on the family’s income in the 2023 living wage calculation.10 The mechanics of the calculation spreadsheet The calculation spreadsheet has three tabs: ”First-time LW calculation,” “Using last year’s LW income” and “Family expenses.” Use the “Family expenses” tab to manually enter the correct amount. [...] This is accomplished by calculating the ratio of the food costs for the living wage family (based on the costs for the ages and sexes of its members) to the food costs for the food costing survey’s reference family in BC. [...] The amount is adjusted for inflation using the CPI for “Operation of passenger vehicles.” For the Metro Vancouver two-parent family, the transit expenses are based on the cost of purchasing a two-zone monthly bus pass for four months of the year and the cost of LIVING WAGE 2023 TECHNICAL APPENDIX | 12 purchasing a U-Pass for eight months of the year. [...] Canada Dental Benefit The CCB, the BC Family Benefit, the BCCATC and the GST Credit are based on formulas set in July of each year, and the amount usually remains the same until the following June. [...] Rarely, the formulas change at other times of the year, as was the case in 2023 with the one-off “grocery rebate” (GST Credit top-up) and the temporary enhanced payments of the BCCATC and the BC Family Benefit.