HST Vote Deadline Today

It's been 2 years. TWO YEARS of fighting over the harmonized sales tax (HST) in BC. But today hopefully marks the end, as referendum ballots are due in today by 4:30pm. I have voted to keep the HST and I hope my fellow British Columbians have joined me.

The HST is more efficient, raises more money, is easier to apply, is more broadly applied, saves the government and business billions in administrative costs, makes business more competitive, fosters investment and job creation and eliminates the cascading PST, where tax is applied on tax.

The HST was and continues to be sound economic policy. It was implemented in a foolish and insulting way, but the people's distaste over that has cost a premier his job, and for a while at least, his legacy. It's time to end this. A vote to kill the HST would only serve to drag this sideshow on for months and year longer, as we untangle the existing system. I'm tired of hearing about it. I'm tired of debating it. Let's move on to other, more pressing priorities, and let this go.

I've voted to keep the HST. Here's hoping enough of you did too.

HST Keeps Getting Better and Better....

...and I mean that in the most sincere way. I've been very clear about where I stand on the HST: I think it is a smart economic policy, which will boost competitiveness, drive job-creation, save government money, and strengthen our economy. And now I've found yet another reason to applaud this new tax policy. The government recently released a list of items that will be taxed and not taxed by the HST. (You can find that list here.) On that list, you'll see that when the HST starts on July 1, it will apply to adult clothes bought for children. Currently, if you buy adult clothes you pay the full 12% tax of GST and PST. However, if you claim you are buying the items for a child, you can save the 7% PST right at the register. With the HST, that will no longer be allowed and it's about time. Having worked in retail for years, I can personally tell you that this PST exemption was wildly abused. I know of countless times I removed the PST from an item that I knew was for the adult who was buying it, not their child. I had tourists coming to my store who could barley speak English, but were well informed to say "No PST". I distinctly remember thinking about all the money being lost to untruthful shoppers and I am thoroughly impressed that the government has abolished this practice. I am sure that some big-boned teenagers would really do need adult clothes will be put out by this change, but for the most part this is a smart move that will close a pretty big loophole for tax evasion that currently exists at every checkout and register in the province.

HST Opponents Should Come Up With The $1.6 Billion

The HST opponents are continuing to rally against the proposed harmonized sales tax that will come into effect on July 1st. Former premier Bill Vander Zalm is holding rallies across the province, the NDP is making political hay out of it whenever they can, the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association is running ads and a website in opposition, and a petition will begin circulating in April hoping to derail the yet-to-be-written legislation. The BC Liberals, who were strangely silent on this issue for so long, have finally begun to fight back, explaining the myriad benefits that the HST will provide for the economy. The BC Liberals need to start demanding one other thing of the HST opponents: where's the $1.6 billion? The federal government gave BC a $1.6 billion payment to harmonize the federal and provincial sales taxes. With the province's budget bleeding red ink, I'd like to know where the strange bedfellows of the NDP and Bill Vander Zalm are planning on coming up with that money? Without the $1.6 billion, we'd be in an even bigger hole than we are now. And what about the tens of millions the government itself will save each year with the HST? Where will that money come from? And what about the billions in savings businesses and employers will get from the HST? What are the opponents' plans to cover all that? The HST makes both short term and long term economic sense for British Columbia and no Vander Zalm-NDP petition drive is going to convince me otherwise.

Bill Vander Zalm should have stayed out to pasture.

Now he's raising money for a constiutional challenge to the HST? After asking the Governor General to step in, which is laughable, he's now going to fight the HST in the courts. Why? If you could decipher his foaming-at-the-mouth tirade on CKNW last week, its because the HST is being forced upon BC by the federal government without BC's approval. Sorry, but he's wrong. A democratically elected provincial government is pursuing this shift. What'sundemocratic is a political dinosaur un-extincting himself to undermine the government. Get over it HST zealots. There's no conspiracy or scheme here. Its a policy you don't agree with. I get it. But enough with the rallies and court cases already. If you're still angry in 3 1/2 years when we are out of recession, the HST having done nothing but create jobs and increase efficiency, and the province humming along, then you can voice that anger at the polls. And maybe there will even be a washed-up flower magnate on the ballot for you all to rally around.

Why All the HST Hubbub?

The BC government is right to move towards a harmonized sales tax. Business groups and economists have been calling for this for years and it is a smart tax policy in this economic climate. HST will save businesses over $150 million and will save the province $30 million in administration costs from not having to deal with two different taxes from two different governments. Businesses will also stand to save nearly $2 billion on new investments and inputs. Canada and BC already lag other jurisdictions in research and development and investment spending and these savings will help spur greater business investment, greater competitiveness and a stronger BC economy. The new HST will be applied to nealy everything, doing away with the long list of goods that are currently exempt form the PST. This is where the NDP is making political hay and the public seems upset. But the PST exemptions are largely ridiculous. Tax should be applied across the board fairly to everything. Why do I pay tax on a wool scarf, but you don't pay tax on the wool to make it? Why should I pay no tax on news magazine while you pay tax on fashion magazines? Why is children's clothing tex exempt but not seniors' clothing? Why are pencils tax-free for college students but not tax free for my personal use on the Sunday crossword?These exemptions are largely unnessesary and are often taken advantage of. Having worked for a time in a clothing store, I can attest to the abuse of the tax free clothing for kids--many, many adults simply buy themselves items and them claim they are for some child to get the tax break. There's no need for such a hit-and-run, spotty tax policy. However, the government is providing some limited exemptions, which the critics often fail to mention; feminine hygeine products WILL be exempt, diapers WILL be exempt, as will basic groceries, kid's clothing, fuel, books and carseats. Plus, refundable tax credits (free cash) will be given quarterly to low-income individuals to help offset the new taxes.
There is no reason for all this HST hubbub. It is the same amount of tax, 12%, as now, just paid in one lump instead of split into two. The exemptions will change, but not as much as the critics claim, and not as much as I would argue they should. And those who will be impacted the most, will be given money to help them out. While I will admit that this debate should have been held during the recent election, where it was notably absent, the HST policy is smart, it is fair and it is being needlessly attacked.