HST a double-cross to the public May 08, 2010

The B.C. Liberals said in writing during the election that they had no plan to implement the harmonized sales tax. Three days after the election was over, senior staff within the B.C. finance ministry were e-mailing back and forth with the federal government about the details of implementing the HST. It is still unknown who directed them to do so and when those directions were given. Then, just weeks after the election, the Liberals announced the deal with the federal government that would merge the GST and the PST. The stage was set for a $1.9-billion tax shift to consumers that involved no consultation with the public, with small businesses or economic sectors such as tourism, hospitality and food services. Between the deception voters feel about how the Liberals introduced the tax, and the fact that they will shoulder the burden of the HST, it's no wonder British Columbians have rejected it. The Liberals' first plan to sell the HST was to simply repeat over and over that it's the single biggest thing we can do for the economy. The reality is the Liberals seem to have no post-Olympics economic plan outside of making families pay more and big corporations less. And if the HST is such a great idea, why didn't they put their idea before voters? When they announced the HST, they hadn't done any economic study of the full effect of the HST on families, consumer spending or the various economic sectors. Within days of the double-cross, British Columbians made it clear they did not want the HST. So the Liberal government became more desperate, claiming in the budget speech that revenue generated from the HST will pay for health care. This claim was rejected by the media and the public as ludicrous. Revenue from taxes are put into general coffers, not specific ministries. The money is then spent on the multitude of services that government is responsible for providing. The Liberal government had also already said the HST would be revenue-neutral -- meaning there isn't even going to be additional revenue. In fact, in the first year alone, the HST will generate $113 million less for government than if we had stuck with the PST. By the Liberals' own logic, it implies we lose health care money, thanks to the HST. Former Liberal Finance Minister Carole Taylor recently said the HST takes the tax burden off big business and "puts it on consumers." She continued, "That shift is a shift that is ideological as well as factual ... But I think the bigger issue is that just before the election [the Liberals] promised that they would not -- they would not -- do the harmonization of the sales tax. And then right after the election, decided to do it." Now, with their own people turning on them, the current finance minister and the Liberals -- the same people who said they wouldn't implement the HST and then did -- have mounted a campaign to accuse everyone who opposes the HST of misinforming the public. How ironic. The government has still not published a clear and comprehensive list of what people will be paying more for under the HST. Carole James and the New Democrats have repeatedly asked to see such a list in order to clear up any confusion. Finance Minister Colin Hansen's only response has been to list four or five things that won't go up under the HST, and to say the full information is on the ministry website. Anyone who has gone on to the website knows that comprehensive list of items that will cost more under the HST is nowhere to be found. The Ontario government published just such a list, but this government is more interested in putting out propaganda then explaining the real impact of the HST. While governments around the world are trying to stimulate consumer spending in an effort to help their fragile economies rebound, the Liberals are making British Columbians pay more for everything from the cup of coffee and newspaper in the morning, to theatre and movie tickets, home repairs and even funerals. British Columbia's families deserve to know how their budgets will be impacted, and what will increase in cost thanks to the HST. The New Democrats will continue to hold the government to account for their lack of transparency, the HST, and their broken election promises. Bruce Ralston is the New Democrat finance critic.