Things are looking good for the HST petition, says the lead organizer of the group, which gathered hundreds of thousands of names now being tabulated in Victoria.

Fight HST a few weeks ago submitted to Elections BC a petition to repeal the controversial harmonized sales tax, which began July 1. The group needs the signatures of a minimum 10 per cent of voters in all 85 ridings, but in most cases the signature drive met or surpassed 15 per cent in all 85 ridings.

Noting the count would immediately stop if they failed to gather the required number in an least one riding, Fight HST organizer Chris Delaney said gathering the extra signatures will ensure the campaign is a success.

"Every day that goes by that we don't hear from them (Elections BC) is a good sign, it means the petition will likely succeed," Delaney told the Optimist.

"We understand that they've started with what they thought were the more vulnerable ridings where there were lower number thresholds first. The smallest ridings had about 16 or 17 per cent and the rest will be in the 30 or 40 percentile."

Delaney said they've been told Elections BC will announce the results by Aug. 11.

"Preliminary reports say that it's going well. The observers that we have there are under a confidentially agreement, so there's only so much they can say, but we've been told from everything they've seen it's all according to the rules and every effort is being made to validate the signatures," he added.

Fight HST says should the petition prove a success, the government has two options: vote on the legislation proposed by opponents (The HST Extinguishment Act), or conduct a province-wide referendum (Initiative Vote) on the question of extinguishing the HST in B.C.

If the government ignores the petition, Fight HST says it will launch recall campaigns against selected Liberal MLAs. The group recently launched court action challenging the new tax.

In a news release, Fight HST leader Bill Vander Zalm said consumers and businesses alike are reporting that the impact of the new tax is much worse than many thought.

"We are finding that the government has not been truthful with us about the HST yet again. The new tax actually amounts to more than 12 per cent in some cases, because we have a tax on taxes," said the Ladner resident and former premier.

Vander Zalm said that anyone who has purchased an item with an eco fee or a deposit fee will notice the HST is applied on top of those other taxes. He also said many parking vendors, as well as other businesses, have used the HST as an opportunity to increase the cost of goods at the same time.

However, the HST has proved to be a good deal for a few, including Delta.

Local council recently approved the purchase of a new fire truck, a purchase that had been held off until after July 1 because the municipality now gets an HST rebate. Previously, the municipality wouldn't receive a PST rebate for such purchases. Mayor Lois Jackson said Delta got "a bigger bang for its buck."