By now most of us have seen various ads with little stickmen asking about choices for the HST referendum. Many assumed those were the questions being put forward by the independent Elections B.C. Not so. It's a serious advertising campaign promoting the retention of the HST, sponsored by the provincial government and paid for with over $10 million of your tax dollars.
Looking at the ads there is no mention of who sponsored them. Finance Minister Kevin Falcon, in a letter to the Optimist, claims the logo on the ads and on the front of the Voters' Guide (the sun behind the mountains with "Best Place on Earth") says it all.
Well, that same logo is on licence plates, highway construction signs, Ministry of Transportation vehicles, college expansion signs and so on. Like a lot of folks, I had presumed the guide and early ads were "information only" from Elections B.C., not part of multi-million dollar government ad campaign.
A visit to the HSTinBC website suggests massive B.C. deficits if we return to the combined PST and HST. Along with current print ads, they compare the proposed lower HST rate (in 2014) with the current HST as a means of getting you to agree to keep it. However, nowhere does it tell consumers it will take a decade to get back the extra taxes now being collected.
So where is the truth?
The Globe and Mail recently did an article on the subject - the first neutral piece I have seen. It describes the B.C. arguments for keeping the HST as "flimsy arguments that collapse at the first nudge."
The article suggests perhaps a one per cent improvement in the economy 10 years from now, and that Falcon has exaggerated the costs of returning to GST/PST. The benefit to B.C. business will be reduced as a planned business tax reduction will be eliminated.
The HST is fundamentally a shift in taxation from business to consumer. We, the consumers, are now paying on average $350 more per year. It could be over $1,000 if you do home repairs. Yes, the rate is supposed to be reduced in three years, but what's the track record of a government that promises to lower taxes way off in the future?
The extra taxes you and I are paying come from the taxes being collected on added items. Under the PST, several items were not taxed, but are now taxed under the HST.
A year ago we rose up in anger over the government not being honest about the HST. That led to the resignation of the premier, a new cabinet and a fresh approach. I'm afraid the lesson has not been learned.
They are still not being honest and forthright with us. I want lower taxes. I want an honest government. That's not happening.
Guess who is going to pay the extra taxes? When you comb your hair in front of a mirror, you will have the answer.
