The HST referendum is upon us, I will vote Yes to extinguish the HST. I have heard arguments on both sides, some businesses do benefit from less paperwork with the HST, but many people shoulder a greater tax burden because of it and I see that extra tax every day.(Not to mention the recent carbon tax increase and the proposed Evergreen line levy)
Yet that is not the main reason I am voting to rid us of the tax. For me it was the way the tax was imposed on us after promises it would not and the way it was sold, which was downright dishonest. The Government need to punished for that breech of trust. A vote to extinguish the HST will be a clear message; "You govern on our sufferance". Governments by their nature quickly become arrogant and the government under Gordon Campbell was more arrogant than normal and much of that attitude and the players still remain.
If the referendum is successful we will return to the GST/PST tax which was far from perfect, however there will be nothing stopping government from improving it and even proposing a new HST. I am not against that, but do it properly, be open, debate, be prepared to go to the polls on it. Had they done the HST honestly we would not be doing this referendum right now. This is a lesson the government needs to learn, a vote to support the HST is a vote in support of dishonest government and will tell them there is is no consequence for lying to the public.
The government is feeling the pressure though, promising to lower the HST to 10% from 12%. Lets be real, if it was not for the referendum, the HST would remain at 12% and we would be stuck paying more in tax. So I ask, if the government can afford a 10% HST, why then did they original try to ram a 12% HST down our throats? Where do these tax numbers come from? political whim or true costs?
