From a Builders perspective the HST is horrible and has cost us thousands and thousands in lost work. Just add up how much you will be paying in materials, total cost of house and property etc etc etc. I would have no problem with the HST if they just Changed where the taxes were sent to. I mean if they kept all the same things that were exempt under the pst and exempted them under the HST, we would not be having this conversation. That's just my two cents and how it has affected my lively hood. All added tax is going to is push things underground and that won't help anyone.
If the government would have been honest in the firstplace and explained all of this and set a referendum with the election all of this could have been avoided. I have found the people of BC are not foolish but they have been angered by the government's mistrust of their own people and are not in the mood to believe anything said by these aristocratic minded fools.FYI from the paper today.
Guest column: Killing the HST would be bad for everybody
By Peter Leitch, The Province July 5, 2011 9:29 AM Comments (1)
Why do HST opponents want to take away money from B.C. families?
Vote "no" and keep the new, lower 10-per-cent HST, or vote "yes" to turn back the clock and return to the higher, 12-per-cent double tax PST-GST. That's the choice for voters in the newly extended HST referendum.
To make an informed choice, British Columbians need to understand what going back to the previous, archaic 12-per-cent PST-GST regime truly means.
HST opponents are ignoring the facts and trying to convince us that it's OK to vote for a tax system that will take money away from B.C. families.
They're supporting the higher PST-GST that will cost the average B.C. family $120 more a year than under the HST.
If B.C. voters elect to bring back the PST-GST, the rate will not decrease by two per cent. Seniors and children under the age of 18 will not receive $175 rebate cheques to cover the transition period during the rate change. And HST payments of up to $230 that would have been put into the hands of lower-income families will be replaced by a paltry $75 PST tax credit.
Simply put, the 10-per-cent HST benefits all British Columbians.
It puts more money into household bank accounts, more cash back into consumers' pockets and helps businesses afford job-creating investments and equipment.
PST-GST supporters are putting their trust behind, and selling the public on a double tax that will eliminate 24,400 jobs that would have been created under the HST.
They're ignoring the HST's power to build B.C.'s economy, secure jobs and help strengthen small businesses, which make up more than 98 per cent of the province's business community and employ over one million British Columbians. And across the province, small businesses are already seeing the HST benefiting their customers, employees and families.
Nu-Tech Fire and Safety in Kamloops has hired two new staff members and lowered prices on many products for its retail customers. It estimates savings of more than $10,000 since the HST was implemented, money that it is investing in its business and consumers, while strengthening current jobs and creating new opportunities for employees.
Downs Construction based out of Victoria took its HST savings and gave every employee a raise.
And Ceili's Irish Restaurant and Pub in Vancouver says it has the HST to thank for a new restaurant that will create another 40 to 60 jobs.
The HST is also helping B.C.'s resource sectors, making them more competitive on the international stage. Previously, with the PST, B.C. businesses were forced to pay tax on business inputs such as materials, equipment, energy as well as other goods and services. This meant higher prices for consumers.
With the HST, these costs do not exist any more, meaning that industries like construction, mining, manufacturing, tourism, technology and forestry can pay their employees better salaries and create better, higher-paying jobs.
One of the biggest hits B.C. would take by going back to the PST-GST would be in its film and TV industry. We are Hollywood North and we need a competitive tax system to keep that reputation alive and to ensure a thriving industry does not retreat to Ontario or California.
Bring back the PST-GST and production costs would go up -wiping out about 20 per cent of the film business we have today.
Vote to reinstate the PST-GST and B.C.'s economy and job growth potential will take a giant step backward.
Returning to a 12-per-cent double tax will mean B.C. families pay more and get less.
And because we would need to repay $1.6 billion to Ottawa, families would have to suffer through the necessary cuts to our health-care and education systems to recoup that extraordinary cost.
British Columbians need to start asking why HST opponents want to take money away from us. That's why I'm voting "no" to the PST-GST and encourage you to do the same. The cost of going back is too great.
Peter Leitch, co-chairman of the Smart Tax Alliance, is president of North Shore Studios and Mammoth Studios and chairman of the Motion Picture Production Industry Association of B.C.
FYI from the paper today.
Guest column: Killing the HST would be bad for everybody
By Peter Leitch, The Province July 5, 2011 9:29 AM Comments (1)
Why do HST opponents want to take away money from B.C. families?
Vote "no" and keep the new, lower 10-per-cent HST, or vote "yes" to turn back the clock and return to the higher, 12-per-cent double tax PST-GST. That's the choice for voters in the newly extended HST referendum.
To make an informed choice, British Columbians need to understand what going back to the previous, archaic 12-per-cent PST-GST regime truly means.
HST opponents are ignoring the facts and trying to convince us that it's OK to vote for a tax system that will take money away from B.C. families.
They're supporting the higher PST-GST that will cost the average B.C. family $120 more a year than under the HST.
If B.C. voters elect to bring back the PST-GST, the rate will not decrease by two per cent. Seniors and children under the age of 18 will not receive $175 rebate cheques to cover the transition period during the rate change. And HST payments of up to $230 that would have been put into the hands of lower-income families will be replaced by a paltry $75 PST tax credit.
Simply put, the 10-per-cent HST benefits all British Columbians.
It puts more money into household bank accounts, more cash back into consumers' pockets and helps businesses afford job-creating investments and equipment.
PST-GST supporters are putting their trust behind, and selling the public on a double tax that will eliminate 24,400 jobs that would have been created under the HST.
They're ignoring the HST's power to build B.C.'s economy, secure jobs and help strengthen small businesses, which make up more than 98 per cent of the province's business community and employ over one million British Columbians. And across the province, small businesses are already seeing the HST benefiting their customers, employees and families.
Nu-Tech Fire and Safety in Kamloops has hired two new staff members and lowered prices on many products for its retail customers. It estimates savings of more than $10,000 since the HST was implemented, money that it is investing in its business and consumers, while strengthening current jobs and creating new opportunities for employees.
Downs Construction based out of Victoria took its HST savings and gave every employee a raise.
And Ceili's Irish Restaurant and Pub in Vancouver says it has the HST to thank for a new restaurant that will create another 40 to 60 jobs.
The HST is also helping B.C.'s resource sectors, making them more competitive on the international stage. Previously, with the PST, B.C. businesses were forced to pay tax on business inputs such as materials, equipment, energy as well as other goods and services. This meant higher prices for consumers.
With the HST, these costs do not exist any more, meaning that industries like construction, mining, manufacturing, tourism, technology and forestry can pay their employees better salaries and create better, higher-paying jobs.
One of the biggest hits B.C. would take by going back to the PST-GST would be in its film and TV industry. We are Hollywood North and we need a competitive tax system to keep that reputation alive and to ensure a thriving industry does not retreat to Ontario or California.
Bring back the PST-GST and production costs would go up -wiping out about 20 per cent of the film business we have today.
Vote to reinstate the PST-GST and B.C.'s economy and job growth potential will take a giant step backward.
Returning to a 12-per-cent double tax will mean B.C. families pay more and get less.
And because we would need to repay $1.6 billion to Ottawa, families would have to suffer through the necessary cuts to our health-care and education systems to recoup that extraordinary cost.
British Columbians need to start asking why HST opponents want to take money away from us. That's why I'm voting "no" to the PST-GST and encourage you to do the same. The cost of going back is too great.
Peter Leitch, co-chairman of the Smart Tax Alliance, is president of North Shore Studios and Mammoth Studios and chairman of the Motion Picture Production Industry Association of B.C.
What's amusing about your statement is that I was not crediting those stats to the HST. I was merely showing those stats to prove that the HST is not hurting the economy.
However if you compare BC's stats to the rest of Canada, only Alberta's numbers are better than BC's. I'll let those numbers speak for themselves.
Why don't you show a few stats to support your anti-HST stance??
YOU WORK IN THE BASEMENT OF THE LEDGE? Of course you do!