Is the harmonized sales tax good for B.C. or bad for B.C.? It depends who you ask these days, but like many things in life, there is a good case for either side in the ongoing HST debate.
The debate, at least the anti-HST side, rolled through Sechelt Monday night when former premier Bill Vander Zalm spoke to a small crowd at the Sechelt Indian Band. Vander Zalm, who has been leading the Fight the HST campaign for the past year, condemned the tax in every way.
On the other side you have the Smart Tax Alliance that is describing itself as a non-partisan coalition made up of business and industry groups who have formed to support the HST and the job-creating benefits that the HST has brought this province and will continue to bring this province in the future.
They, along with the Liberal government, want the HST to stay and will be urging voters to sway that way in the weeks to come.
So we have two sides of the coin, both with very different messages. So, what is fact and what is fiction? We still haven't decided yet ourselves.
But here's the argument as we see it.
If voters decide to keep the HST, Premier Christy Clark's government has promised to reduce the provincial portion of the HST rate from seven per cent to six per cent on July 1, 2012, and to five per cent on July 1, 2014.
The average British Columbian family would pay $953 less in sales taxes with a 10 per cent HST compared to a 12 per cent HST.
There is also the issue of the province having to come up with the billions of dollars we received from the federal government if we vote to kill the HST. And there are the costs small business will incur if we change back to the old system - a system many small businesses hated in the first place.
If the majority of British Columbians vote against the HST, the province will shift back to the seven per cent PST and five per cent GST, and the average family will pay slightly less in sales taxes. Specifically, the average family will pay $257 less in sales taxes if the PST/GST system is reinstated.
As we near the referendum in the coming weeks and you get your ballots in the mail, there is hope to make some sense out of this whole mess, however.
That's why we're encouraging all voters to get involved. Listen to both sides of the issue. Do your research and vote with an informed mind.
Read the 25-page HST panel report issued in early May. It's available by clicking on the "Independent Panel Report" icon at www.hstinbc.com. The report offers a balanced and informative look at what the HST means for average families, small businesses and the B.C. economy. The case for both sides is laid out in a clear fashion and, in our opinion, includes all the information you need to formulate your opinion on how you should vote.
This is a tough issue, but it's an important one - an issue that will help shape this province for years. It's everyone's responsibility to get informed and make the best choice each of us can for B.C. on the ballot.
