Premier Gordon Campbell finally starts writing the list of what goods and services will be hit by the new Harmonized Sales Tax - just 10 months late!Rather amazingly, Premier Gordon Campbell and Finance Minister Colin Hansen have at last come up with a list of goods and services that will be hit by the HST, a mere 10 months after they announced the HST on July 23, 2009.
But true to form, the list is woefully incomplete and misleading in some places!
Or rather - to quote the government website where it appears starts with this stark admission of failure:
"Here are some examples of common products and services purchased by British Columbians and how they will be affected by the HST. This is not an exhaustive list of all goods and services."
No kidding!
The reality is that even this list was only produced under pressure - because of the wildly successful Fight HST citizens Initiative petition and because the Ontario government had such a list online months ago - but not BC.
Rather amusingly, the list gets put up on a Friday afternoon - dump out the trash time in Victoria - and the same day the government releases Elections BC's solid rejection of their complaints against Fight HST. Surprise, surprise, surprise.
The list also will not give taxpayers the full picture - intentionally - of what gets whacked by the extra 7% when goods and services previously only subject to the 5% GST get taxed at 12% come July 1.
For example, the government HST list boldly states that "condo fees" are not subject to the HST. Technically correct but highly misleading, since condo maintenance fees are primarily made up of things like cleaning services, repairs, renovations and other services that will all go up 7%.
In my own condo our management firm estimates a 4% increase in our fees due to the HST only.
You also won't find that vacation properties - cabins, cottages, getaways etc - are going to be hit by the HST. Only used primary residences are not subject to the extra HST - or new homes costing less than $525,000.
Nonetheless all British Columbians should take a look at the incomplete list of HST hits - it will still come as a shock to many who thought the HST would not apply so widely.
And after you read the bad news - make sure you sign the Fight HST petition in your riding and join my NO BC HST protest group on Facebook - tell the BC Liberals you want the HST killed now!
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28 comments:
Got our Shaw bill yesterday and yes, there is the HST. And with the increase in the carbon tax due soon, I wonder just how many taxes the citizens of this province will actually accept from Gordo and his shifty gang. I note as well that all the folks with leaking condos will be paying more to get them repaired. So in effect the strata fees will be going up too. Ain't it great being subjected to a gang who taxes by stealth, and only gets around to telling us some of the costs after a 10 month delay.
It is interesting the picture you use of Campbell was shot by a CanWest Butt-Kisser at the Fraser Insitute earlier this year.
If the Fraser Institute did not exist probably half of Campbell and his BC Liberals wack-job "Republican" policies would have never come into existence.
Campbell is lots of things but without the evil-"intellect" of the Fraser Institute the world would be a far better place.
The GREAT SATAN
Didn't Hansen say that with the HST prices will drop (or some such twaddle)?
According to their own list, they say on page 4 in the grid under Food and Beverages:
Alcoholic Beverages 5% 10% Yes (drops to 12%)7
Yet, when one looks at that footnote 7 at the bottom of page 4:
7 Although the provincial sales tax rate on liquor is decreasing from 10% to 7%, liquor mark‐ups are adjusted with
the implementation of the HST to generally keep the Liquor Distribution Branch shelf prices constant.
For a guy who couldn’t co-ordinate an accurate HST “hit” list that contained many false and misleading claims so much so that you had to pull it from your fight HST website, it is interesting how you have now suddenly become and “expert” on every HST nuance the government is apparently trying to hide. Pretty lame Tielemen, even for you.
Do you have to have that nauseating picture of Gordo at the top of this article. Couldn't you at least draw some horns on him?
@8:48 am anonymous
so the Liberals:
a) don't campaign on bringing in the HST;
b) don't provide a list and still haven't provided an accurate list of what the HST will tax;
c) don't acknowledge the tax hit on families and individuals;
and Bill Tieleman's the bad guy? lmao
maybe you can still be playing the blame game when recalls start happening this fall.
Voters are plumb p.o.'ed and that tax will be hitting them everywhere, everyday.
Anon 8:48, why are you wasting your great intellect and precious time reading and commenting on Mr. Tieleman's article? Could it be that its your job to spam progressive websites?
thanks Bill!
@Anon 8:48
Cheer up.
Does annon 8:48 reside in the PAB basement of the stone pile in Victoria? A government suck maybe? What else can explain such a inane comment in spite of all the evidence to the contrary. Sheesh!
Duh Province published a pretty extensive list Bill. Are you saying that this list is incomplete?
Why yes Anonymous - I am saying it is an incomplete list - and a misleading one - did you actually look at it?
I'm glad they've finally done something - nearly a year late, weeks and weeks after Fight HST challenged Colin Hansen to stop complaining about its list and post his own.
But I see you can't find "vacation property" or anything resembling it on that list - and it is going to really demolish that sector, and all who work in it.
That's just one example I already mentioned but you don't want to comment on.
"join my NO BC HST protest group on Facebook - tell the BC Liberals you want the HST killed now!"
Alot of good that's going to do. The HST is a done deal. Might as well build up the NDP to have them
ready for being goverment?
And Bill, what happens if the NDP does become goverment? Are you going after them too? They won't repeal the HST.
Or is it magical that somehow the HST protests will disappear once the BC Liberals do from being goverment?
Anon 8:46 pm
Let me guarantee you that should the NDP become government I, as a HST canvasser and likely my fellow 5000+ strong canvassers will expect the NDP to cancel the HST completely and Harper and the federal government to cancel our $1.6 billion debt completely. Campbell and Harper never had the right to impose it without a vote and they both lied. We must not be forced to pay the Feds with our own tax dollars. Hopefully Bill Vander Zalm, Chris Delaney and Bill Tieleman will lead that movement as well as they have led us in our fight against the HST.
TO THE NDP; Don't mess with the B.C. voters or we will come after you too. GET RID OF THE HST COMPLETELY. WE WANT TO KNOW RIGHT NOW THAT YOU WILL COMPLETELY CANCEL IT. IF YOU WILL NOT COMMIT TO THAT THEN ALL I CAN SAY IS GOOD LUCK AND GOODBYE.
Bill
I just spent quite some time typing a comment and typed in the correct word verification three times and all times it told me the characters you entered didn't match the word verification. Is PAB at work again? I have printed out a copy. Please let me know what went wrong....
Jean
This time it looks like this will send ok..rehaut but I don't have time right now to re-type it.
11:38 pm sat night. CHEK 6 just had on that there is a full list of the HST covered items on the gov's web site. They also said only 20% of the items will be affected and 80% no difference. Huggies will go down because now you won't pay pst on them. Will They? I wouldn't bet on it.
Jaydee... What is your thinking? The NDP has to repeal it or good luck and good bye (after the liberals are to be recalled)... So then who will we put in Victoria? We only have 2 choices. The greens aren't going to run the province, they just help drag some votes away from the liberals and give the NDP a slightly better chance. The conservatives can't get a real party together. Any other "party" is a joke. It is liberal or ndp, those are your choices.
My predictions (for what it's worth)
1.The FIGHT HST citizens initiative will meet it's requirement.
2.The HST will not be repealed by the liberals (I think this is the one thing out of Gordo's mouth you can actually believe).
3.Recall will be unsuccessful.
4.Come next election there may still be enough pissed off people to get Gordo and company out of office. I think this is the only positive we have to look at here.
5.If prediction 4 happens, we will wind up with an NDP government.
6.Given #4 and #5, the NDP will not repeal the NDP, but there may be a bit more accountability from government, or less lies and corruption. The first part I'd wager money on (the HST), the second part about how they would run things I can't really be sure I wasn't old enough to follow politics last time we had an NDP government, my only experience is with the crap excuse of government we've gotten from Gordos cronies.
Here is a partial list of items increasing under the HST.
Around the house:
- Newspapers
- Certain school supplies
- Magazines
- First-aid kits
- Residential smoke detectors under $250
- Food-producing plants and trees
- Household moving services
Clothing, footwear and accessories:
- Adult-sized clothing for children
- Shoe repair
- Tailoring services
- Dry cleaning
- Used adult clothing purchased for less than $100
Food and beverages:
- Snack foods (e. g. chips, pop)
- Restaurant meals
Electronics:
- Music or video MP3s downloaded electronically
Home services:
- Basic cable television
- Local residential phone
- Repair to certain household appliances (e. g. stoves, ovens, refrigerators, washers and dryers)
- Residential electricity and heating (drops to five per cent from 5.04, after a seven-per-cent provincial rebate)
- Repair, maintenance or renovation services for real property (e. g. plumbing, electrical)
- Landscaping, lawncare, private snow removal, and house cleaning
Accommodation and travel:
- Taxis
- Camping sites
- Domestic air, rail and bus travel originating in B.C.
Motorized vehicles:
- Short-term auto rentals (rate remains 12 per cent, but $1.50-per-day tax eliminated)
NOTE: Taxes on leases and purchases of vehicles -- including alternative fuel or fuel-efficient vehicles -- depends on the previous PST treatment, so it could remain at 12 per cent or drop to 12 per cent
Home purchases:
- New homes over $525,000
- Real-estate commissions
Health and beauty:
- Massage therapy services
- Over-the-counter medications
- Vitamins
Memberships, entertainment and sports equipment
- Admission to professional sporting events
- Movie tickets
- Safety helmets for sports
- Golf memberships
- Driving-range fees
- Gym and athletic memberships
- Ballet, karate, trampoline, hockey, soccer lessons, etc.
- Tickets for live theatre
- Bicycles
- Admission to museums and art galleries
- Music concerts
Leases and rentals:
- Hockey rink and hall rentals
Professional and personal services:
- Funeral services
- Fitness trainer
- Hair stylist/barber
- Esthetician services
- Accounting services
- Interior design services
- Wedding planning services
- Veterinarian services
Tobacco:
- Cigarettes
- Cigars
- Chewing tobacco
- Nicotine replacement products
Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/health/Items+with+prices+increasing+under+upcoming/3034590/story.html
Anon 8:46 PM
The HST is not a done deal. Unless you are living in the land of OZ you should be able to read the Fight HST website. This government has forced a Bill through the Legislature WITHOUT any consultation with the people. They then rammed it through with CLOSURE. Both in my opinion against the law.
Our CONSTITUTION guarantees that the provinces have the right to collect taxes within their jurisdiction. I have seen NO CHANGES in the constitution to negate that fact. Bottom line, Constitutional Challenge.
Unless you are living in a dream world you must have seen the numbers being collected in the Initiative, Many are fast approaching the 40% mark. And in case you didn't know, 40% is the number required in any ONE riding for a recall. So that number tells volumes of what could happen here. By all reckoning there will be more than forty per cent in more than 7 ridings opening the way for a recall petition in those ridings. With a lot of confidence I might add.
When people spout off about having to repay 1.6 Billion to the feds that is patently false. The first payment is only 235 Million. Admittedly that number would put a further strain on the Provincial coffers but if you look at it that strain is there already with Campbells broken mega projects. So all that will happen is that when we return the 235 Million we will be back to square one. CAMPBELLS DEBT. And to elect a new party in government will allow the people to see just what the liberal party under Campbell has done. That is the only time we will get "open and honest" government
A Ponderer's Point
We have been told again and again by the BC Liberals and the Harper Conservatives (two trustworthy sources) that the HST will be 'revenue neutral' to the provincial and federal coffers.
What if ...gasp... they're wrong?
Paul Krugman dug through a recent IMF report and came to this startling realization: "the financial crisis has made us permanently poorer, which among other things reduces revenue".
What happens when consumers in our economy cannot support $2 Billion a year in extra taxes? Will business taxes go up to cover the shortfall? Or will the voodoo economists cry: "CRISIS" and attack workers... again?
"Let me guarantee you that should the NDP become government I, as a HST canvasser and likely my fellow 5000+ strong canvassers will expect the NDP to cancel the HST completely and Harper and the federal government to cancel our $1.6 billion debt completely. "
Good luck with that one. But with
Bill here, you have a friend within the NDP. We'll expect Bill
to relaunch his anti-HST drive once the NDP becomes government and there is no indication that the NDP will repeal the HST.
"Campbell and Harper never had the right to impose it without a vote and they both lied."
Partially true, but if people had
helped the NDP more in last May's election, the NDP would have been elected and there wouldn't have been any HST.
"We must not be forced to pay the Feds with our own tax dollars."
You do that anyway through income tax.
"Hopefully Bill Vander Zalm, Chris Delaney and Bill Tieleman will lead that movement as well as they have led us in our fight against the HST."
As I said, you have a friend in the NDP. Bill here will be working
the NDP once again, most likely in
a leadership campaign if Carol James does the right thing and steps down before the next election.
"TO THE NDP; Don't mess with the B.C. voters or we will come after you too. GET RID OF THE HST COMPLETELY. WE WANT TO KNOW RIGHT NOW THAT YOU WILL COMPLETELY CANCEL IT. IF YOU WILL NOT COMMIT TO THAT THEN ALL I CAN SAY IS GOOD LUCK AND GOODBYE."
Please pick up your NDP membership
package at the front door. We would love to have you as a new member.
I've been reading the blog at the cbc about the HST (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/05/14/bc-hst-list.html) and the PAB is working overtime! Some poster named Devon K and another that goes by mickblack have just started spamming.
I think it would be interesting to see if their ip addresses corresponded to the Campbell crew creeps that for some reason you allow to post here...
By the way one of the PABs went so far as to say that the anti-HST petition is evil. Is being paid to slander evil? And is it legal?
I just read The Straight Goods Blog (http://powellriverpersuader.blogspot.com/) and the author has a good theory as to why Gordon flip flopped on whether or not he really intended to stay in politic or go.
The just of it is that no one was willing to fill his shoes because his conies are all well aware the ship has sunk. Therefore he's back and grinning like a red mitten wearing imbecile!
copied from BC Mary:
"Tomorrow is Day One of the BC Rail Corruption Trial (a.k.a., Her Majesty the Queen versus Udhe Singh (Dave) Basi, Bobby Singh Virk, and Aneal Singh Basi.
It's important. Open to the public.
Everyones invited! Anybody planning to attend?"
[BC Supreme Court, 800 Smithe Street, Vancouver.]
"Therefore he's back and grinning like a red mitten wearing imbecile!"
Easy on the silly comments there.
Thsoe Red Mittens were wildly popular. A best seller.
DPL...How can the B.C. Liberal mobsters put HST on your MAY bill? I know Campbell and Harper worked another grab when they added a new trick that anything that will be used after July 1/10 and paid for from May 1 to July 1 will be charged the HST from May l/10 as in airline tickets/trips, etc. How can your May and June Shaw service be used AGAIN after July 1?
Vancouver-Point Grey, the premier's riding. Fewer than 2,000 signatures gathered to date, where 4,000 are needed for the 10 per cent mark and 6,000 for the just-to-be-on-the-safe-side 15 per cent.
Organizers have talked about targeting Campbell for a one-shot recall if the government does not respond to the intiative petition by extinguishing the HST.
For that effort to succeed, it would need 16,000 valid signatures.
Note, too, that recall is a separate process and signatures gathered for an initiative may not, by law, be used for any other purpose.
You are the best Bill, and the most honest commentator ever.
What irks me is, the budget and the HST together, is beyond many BC peoples ability to pay. The budget: 6% hike on home heat. Hydro, will go up in increments to 33%. Our new carbon tax is, 4.45, another hike July 1st. Phone and cable, has the HST applied. Everything you need to run your home is taxed. Everything, from a can of paint, to a tube of lipstick, has the HST applied. The HST, has a very long arm. Low income people and seniors, are going to become homeless. Food costs have gone up 27%, in the last year and a half. Because of the new carbon tax, trucking company's have raised their freight rates, to compensate. Food costs, go up again. Everything trucked in, will cost more. Look at the big picture, it isn't pretty. Campbell and Hansen, are very underhanded. People just have to watch their backs.
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