Sounds screwy to me, but I don't trust any government at all, any time. How can this move "encourage jobs and economic growth"? We still pay the same tax rate, we (business) still have to fill out forms every month, so where are all these encouraged jobs coming from?
Itsallacrockabulls#@!.
metalman.

Is this a tax grab for the provincial government? Right now in the industry there are lots of things that only GST is paid. Now it will all be at the 12% so costs to everyone will go up again.

Human Sexuality Tax.
I knew it would eventually come to this!

I don't know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. I suppose that will become clear as time passes. I do know that this kind of taxation infrastructure change doesn't happen overnight, nor in the little time between May and July. This was already in the works during the election, so why was it kept so secret? Another example of the provincial Liberal contempt for the voters, I guess.

What I find funny is how they say it will help create jobs in BC. Yet they have done so much to transfer jobs to large American firms. Contracting out Pharmacare, school records and even the nurse phone line to American companies. Makes no sense.

Restructure the forestry industry so that they can export raw logs to the US and make us happy that the few jobs remain in harvesting them is a good thing.

and now we get to pay a 12% tax to eat out... YIPPEE!!!

Plus now you get to pay 12% tax on your grocery's as well. Nothing like a tax grab ! Got to pay for the Olympics some how.

In one of the other media releases the government mentioned it is the lowest HST, even lower than Alberta. That is such a lie as Alberta doesn't have a HST system as there is no provincial tax

Where does it say "even lower than Alberta"? It says the "lowest HST rate" - obviously if there is no HST then the statement doesnt apply...

I guess it means some provincial employees become federal employees so we may save a few bucks (ie - spread wages over a larger tax base)

*sorry lunarguy - I just noticed you said "other media releases" - Forget my question lol

When the Maritimes got their HST, there was as debate over whether, as part of the bill, the sticker price on an item should be required to be the final price. People wanted it, businesses did not. I believe at the time the Federal government wrote into the HST laws that once 50% of the country harmonized their sales taxes, they would implement this "Final Price" tagging. Now with BC and Ontario harmonizing, the 50% has been achieved. Will be interesting to see if this comes to pass, or if businesses will win out again.

A lot of people say Gordon Campbell is more conservative than liberal, but the way he's been throwing tax after tax onto us confirms he's just another lefty. He has made me want to move to Alberta.

This Government and especially G Campbell are in a work **nuts**

Once this tax is harmonized it will just become that much more difficult to reduce it or get rid of it.

I for one am sick and tired of incompetant Government officials taxing us to death, while they get big increases in their salaries, and pensions. This includes all Government Civil Servants. They are a pox on the community and need to be reined in.

These guys are worse than the robber Barons of the past.

What have they done for you lately???

Just another tax grab by the Governments. I am sure, as was already said, they need money for the Olympics so the Feds offered the Province a deal they couldn't refuse, again with no consideration for the people in a poor economy. If we live in a Democracy why are the citizens not consulted on these major financial issues ? Guess no one cares about the lowly taxpayer.

As a small business owner this is great news as we will now only have to deal with 1 incompetent set of people (CRA) instead of 2 (CRA & BC PST)

As a consumer, I don't know how it will affect buying anything in a local store, but I know that right now if I buy something mail order from a store out of province and they do not have a presence in BC then I only get charged GST (if they are registered for GST), but come next July I will now be charged 12%HST

Another tax grab. Some businesses are going to lose money on me. With my limited income as a pensioner it 's time to priorize where I spend what available cash I have. Movies, dinners out and heating oil will not be on my list of things to purchase. My size 13 carbon footprint will grow as I heat my home with bio-fuel (logs about 14" long and 8" in diameter)Tax this Gordo I say as my middle finger waves aloft.

"As a consumer, I don't know how it will affect buying anything in a local store"

For most things I don't imagine it will make a difference. Instead of being charged 5% GST and 7% PST, you'll be charged 12% HST. Same difference. This will likely be the case for most run of the mill purchases like new vehicles, video games, clothing, books, etc. Basic groceries shouldn't be taxed because they are already exempt from GST so it would logically follow that they'll be exempt from HST.

For other things, however, the amount of tax paid will go up. Anything that was exempt from PST but that attracted GST, will now be taxed at 12% instead of 5% (except for thr exceptions noted in the article). One example would be restaurant meals, but there would be others as well.

The BIGGIE that nobody has mentioned yet is new housing. The press release on the Province website says:

"Partial rebate of the provincial portion of the single sales tax for new housing to ensure that new homes up to $400,000 will bear no more tax than under the current PST system, while homes above $400,000 will receive a flat rebate of about $20,000"

I'm not sure how to interpret the details as it isn't exactly clear. It would seem to suggest that if you buy a house for $400K or under, you'll be no worse off. If you buy a new house worth more than that though, it would seem to suggest that the amount of tax you will pay is going WAY up compared to what it is now. This isn't as much of a big deal in PG given our house prices (at least not yet), but I imagine people in the LML, Victoria, Kelowna, etc., will be having fits when they crunch the numbers. It could be tens of thousands more.

The press release from the Province also says that this move will remove $1.9 billion in costs to BC business by way of sales taxes that they had paid to the Province. Call me cynical, but I can't see how the Province would willingly forego this dough. Moving to an HST system will definitely reduce costs for business so all things being equal, their net incomes should go up, which would result in more income tax revenues for the Province.

At the end of the day though, I think it's simply a game of shifting the tax burden. Under this system, less tax will be paid by business and more tax will be paid by consumers.

What I would like to know is, where were the NDP when this happened?

I can understand the liberals not bringing it to the public's attention, because they are crooks, liberal only in taxing and spending, but the freaking opposition have a duty to let the public know these things.

I hate our two party system in BC, both are completely crooked, and we just can't get rid of them! When one party disappears, they dissolve and reform into the same ugly party under a different name.

Alberta looks better and better every month. Sure, they're a one party system, but at least they're honest about it and don't just run around with two choices for the same mandate, and for being part of a fiefdom you at least get some benefit. There is no benefit or advantage to living in BC any more. We have zero jobs, and the highest taxes in the country.

Our MLA is NDP here, I wrote them and told them that I and my family will be voting Green Party, not because I like them, but because I can't ethically vote for either the NDP, or the Social Credit / Liberal party ever again for refusing to stand up for working class people yet again.

The NDP are the "Look what they're doing to us now" party, the Liberals are the mafia.

But wait, the recession is over, some prick who's never had a blue collar job in their life said so.

Campbell and his crowd spent $31 million last year to tell us what a great job they were doing.
According to the Global news cast tonight, a poll was conducted for restaurant owners prior to the last election; the Liberals stated for the poll that they weren't in favour of "harmonizing" the taxes.

Welcome to tyranny. This is all about power and the people that control power. Its a centralization for the benefit of the bureaucracy and their political party handlers. If this was democracy we would have debated this in the election only 3-months ago, and we would have had a range of opinions to inform the 'sovereign people' before they made the 'educated' choice. Instead its negotiated behind closed doors and not even the NDP feel the people of this province deserve any input on the matter.

The reason the political party minions don't feel citizens need to be informed is because their agenda doesn't stand up to the light of an intelligent and informed debate. This is why we find do not out about things like the HST, and the disappearing e-mails, and the shady privatization schemes negotiated for the benefit of politicians.

HST is a scheme to centralize the power of the purse in Ottawa and have our budgets handled from a 'higher' power and thus invalidating (so they think) the idea of Canada as a confederation of sovereigns (the provinces) that derive their sovereignty from their citizens... as it was originally conceived. When BC joined confederation the sovereignty of taxation and specifically resource taxation was the major if only concern... the people of BC were adamant from day one that BC control its own taxation for the sovereignty of our democracy.

These corporate mafia crooks can sell BC Rail and cover it up because they have a co-op of criminals at the federal level... these people that work for Wall Street and their bankster handlers would like nothing more then a stream line of their control over the parts of the nation. We have a hidden agenda of the duopoly of right and left both working for centralized power at the expense of free enterprise and sovereign citizens.

This is a cash grab for Gordon Campbell to cover for his fudget election budget shortfall of at least $2 billion... so he can try and escape the political fall out from keeping the citizens of BC in the dark about the state of our economy during an election at a time when his beloved multi-billion dollar fun and games party is about to take place in a few months time. Gordon was willing to sell out the independence of BC to sovereignly decide in the future the complexion and make up of our sales tax as it best meets the needs of British Columbia as seen from the perspective of British Columbia citizens... and not bureaucrats in Ottawa.

I find this disappointing because I would like to see a shift from property tax to a sale tax for municipal funding to make budget accountability far more accountable... rather than a current tax code that holds home owners hostage to the wimps of grand thinkers in government everywhere. Impossible to do with an HST in place IMO. Its not just the restaurants that will hurt from this surprise. Its potentially anything the citizens of BC would have liked to have for sales tax policy in future generations.

Ask the Romans what happened to their confederation (and yes they called it that in the late republic) once they allowed the centralization of imperial power to take hold.... Hidden agenda's rule the day and the light of debate is lost (the essence of great societies like Athens or Rome at their peak), as well as the dynamic of a free people with a variety of enterprises sorting out the good from the bad. Citizen slaves is what follows centralized stagnation.

Gee what a surprise another tax that wasn't mentioned during the election.. too busy shredding and deleting I guess, 31.5 million of public dollars spent to drive home the point that I live in the greatest place on earth maybe Campbell could cut back on his beloved public affairs branch, but what can you tell the best mangers of our economy what a joke! they have out spent the ndp over 500 x ,surrounded by graft and corruption criminal allegations am I suprised by yet anther tax no just dont sit there and tell me how great its going be now that Im taxed on virtually everything i can hardly wait and I think its implemented next year about the same time our carbon tax goes up.. we too are seriously thinking of moving out of province

To all you Liberal lovers - There's your sign!

Heres a good way to make up for all the money we wasted trying to impress the rest of the world with the OLYMPICS.
(said Gordickhead Campbell to himself in the shower one morning)
metalman.

Might just rent a truck and talk to friends, get a list of items and go to Alberta...get them all there...so much for criminal Campbell getting all that extra tax....