HST - What They're Saying

“I commend [Carole] James for being straight up with people about [the HST].”

-Vaughn Palmer (CKNW), May 14, 2010

“Clearly, the B.C. Liberals were less than truthful about their thoughts on the HST during the last provincial election campaign.

"Their decision not to debate the pros and cons of the HST, other than to say, ‘It's good for us,’ clearly shows their arrogance and lack of respect for the people who will bear the brunt of keeping big business competitive by lowering its taxes."

“This is a very, very burdensome tax for consumers at this particular time, and it was brought in, in a very disgraceful manner. We've been deceived. Most people are very upset about the way that this came in, you know, a few days after the election and promises that it wouldn't come in. And here we are, a year after the fact, and we've still got no researched list of the goods that are going to be affected.”

- Consumers Association of Canada President Bruce Cran (on CBC Radio), April 26, 2010

"The harmonized sales tax fight is being waged on three fronts, and the Liberal government seems to be losing on all of them."

-Les Leyne (Times Colonist), April 15, 2010

“The throne speech made an effort to sell the harmonized sales tax, but stumbled.  In the election campaign 10 months ago, the Liberals said the tax would be bad for British Columbians; the speech said ‘nothing is more important’ for the province’s economic future than the tax. The flip-flop is too glaring for people to miss.”

“The B.C. Liberals lied about HST intentions as they courted your vote. When they secured that vote, they did what they said they would not do.”

“All [the HST] is doing is shifting the tax burden from corporations onto the middle class.
“As policies go, that does not strike me, or any number of other people I know, as a good idea.”

“And in our little democracy here, the HST is as popular in British Columbia as the bubonic plague.”

“Now they want us to believe HST is revenue neutral? Rodeo droppings.”

“Okay. Well, of course, Gordon Campbell said this wasn’t on his radar, as he likes to say, before the election.
“It’s a pretty wonky radar.”

“The HST will do a lot of damage to the housing and restaurant industries, and claims of savings due to businesses being able to deduct input costs do not stand up in both of those industries. The people I talked with said the inputs in home construction amount to 1.1 per cent — leaving the remaining 5.9 per cent of the new HST (the PST plus the GST) which will be charged on housing as part of the GST pure gravy for the provincial government.”

“As with the plan to lease the Coquihalla highway to the private sector, the HST needs a rethink.”

“The big problem with the HST is around who gains and who loses in the $2-billion tax shift from business to consumers. Consumers will be paying new taxes on goods and services previously exempt. And while the government has proposed a credit for low-income households with incomes under $20,000, it phases out very quickly after that, leaving a big hit for modest- to middle-income households with hundreds of dollars in additional taxes paid.”

“Well if this HST idea is such a humdinger for the future of the economy why didn’t they do it before the election?”

“As a small business owner, let me say this in answer to the editorial's question -- HST is not good for small business in B.C.”

“We didn't need to fuel the fire. The letters pages of the newspapers are full of anti-HST venom. The talk shows are as hot as they get. Words such as ‘betrayal’ and ‘brutal’ and ‘outrageous’ spill from callers' lips.”

“Even a Catholic nun in full habit was leaning on her car horn as Surrey motorists expressed their disgust during Thursday's road-rage rally against Gordon Campbell's HST.
“Yup, rosary beads will be subject to the consumer tax grab when it kicks in next year. But it seems to me Campbell is the one who should be saying his prayers: Anger over this thing is growing faster than an Okanagan wildfire.”

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