Sign me up!

how about a petition to get rid of rogers?

Why doesn't he just worry about civic issues?

Iglooman, Brian Skakun is still a Canadian Citizen, and as such, he may voice his oppinion on all subjects, at all levels of Government, as you do. Good for Brian Skakun, that he has started this petition. A true leader! I hope to see him take a run at the Mayor's Office one day soon.

Iglooman, are you shaken by his honesty???

Thanks Brian, for all you stand for.

And one more thing, I did sign the petition!

They should preface the petition with a phrase like this:

"If the Provincial Government agrees to stop the implementation of the HST we the undersigned hereby agree to stop whining about the state of our health care system, the state of our education system, the state of our roads and the state of anything else that is funded by taxpayer money."

I wonder how many people would sign it then? Not that anyone would stop whining, signature or not; the sense of entitlement that people have these days is absolutely astounding.

/me waits patiently for someone to mention the Olympics again. *sigh*.

faxman, I think the frusteration expressed by many is due to the fact that the government already collects a tremendous amount of money (Billion$) from you and I and we see so much wasteful spending.

There should be more than enough under our current tax load to go around, but all governments waste so much that they need even more.

I totally agree with you about the constant Olympic whining though. It got old a couple years ago...

I don't usually agree with taxinapothole but I sure do this time. He's 100% right. It's great to see Brian doing this & I too hope he runs for mayor in the next election. I also signed the petition.

FINALLY! Someone for the people and a polititian with balls!

It's a PR stunt.

I'll sign a petition to get Mayor Rogers flown to see the Wizard of Oz.

CaringSoul. The ;petition presently being pushed by Carol James NDP has 29000 signatures. Seems Brian is a little late coming out with his, however he should be given some credit for taking a stand.

Its one thing for a petition to be started, its quite another to get people off their collective asses and get them to sign it.

We could stop this tax if we dont go back to sleep, and keep pushing the issue.

From all the negative comments, I can only think that there must be something good about this tax. Carol James is only being opportunistic. And what's wrong with Rogers. He has only been in for awhile. This a bunch of kufful about nothing. Get used to more taxes and quit whining..

We are paying these taxes anyway so why not have them out in the open. When you go to make your purchase if you don't like the tax don't make the purchase. I guarantee you will buy and you will forget about this very fast. What was I talking about anyway I forgot already.

Get used to more taxes and quit whining..

Maybe you are in a position to bend over, but many of us are not. Whining is for people that like to hear themselves but won't do anything to change things. The people opposed to this new tax are opposed to it for good reason. They are entitled to voice their opinions and I for one applaud Brian Skakun for his efforts.
Rise people, rise.

We are paying these taxes anyway

????? Please don't tell me that you think we already paying these taxes. You must be one of the unenlightened that think that the province is just "blending" taxes to make things easier for us.

When you go to make your purchase if you don't like the tax don't make the purchase

I for one am not going without hydro and gas because I don't like the tax. Do you even know what these taxes are going to be applied to? I am guessing you haven't the faintest idea. If this was a tax on fripperies, yes the consumer could make a choice, unfortunately we need to eat and stay warm.

Stop and think for a moment... other than increasing revenue by taxation, what would be the logical point to adding seven percent to products and services that were previously not taxed ??

What business idiot would be stupid enough to pass on the so called "savings" that he might see from a blended tax on the sales end of his efforts... ??

GAWDDDDD they must think everyone is completely daft and believing of Mr. Hansen's incredible explaination/justification.

Here..... bend over and grab your socks... this wont hurt a bit !!!


V.

Harmonized Sales Tax. The word Harmonized is nothing more than, the Province wanting to get in on the Value added Tax system.

If Gordo really wants the economy to take off, he better tell the feds no thanks on 1.5 billion dollar pay off.

If it must go ahead, it better not be 7 + 5 affair. It better be in the 9 to 10 percent range.

MrPG said: "There should be more than enough under our current tax load to go around, but all governments waste so much that they need even more."

That is an opinion based on what facts? Do you have any comparisons from other provinces, for instance? Other countries? Past times in this province?

Good luck!!!

It is most definitely a stunt. That is why elected people do these things .... they are all stunt men and stunt women.

Add it up. You might have to give up a box of beer a month. If it is more than that you have way more money than you know what to do with anyway. You are paying it on most things already. Check your reciepts sometime!

I signed several petitions already .... vote and vote often ..... with this many petitions going and lots of duplication I expect, we could get more people sign than live in BC.

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/BCANTIHST

http://www.bcrfa.com/SurveyForm/1248730913469-1678/pC/home/

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=105998706732&topic=11378

http://nationalpolitick.wordpress.com/2009/08/06/stop-the-hst-petition-gaining-ground/

http://www.petitiononline.com/lgflgf/petition.html

It will take a politician with guts to actually support the tax, other than Campbell that is. He actually said that the tax was the best thing that he could do for the economy. Unbelievable, but then he said the convention center would be on time and on budget-twice. Having said that we need to pay the for the things we get. So put that in your pot hole.

Does anyone recall the days before the GST when those of us who used to get manuals and similar things printed? There used to be a tax added on at that time that was "visible" by including it on the invoice. It was a "manufacturer's" tax.

That tax was relatively high but I forget the amount. I believe it was higher than the GST which was then brought in and the "manufacturer's" tax was removed.

The hidden manufacturer's tax was paid by everyone on manufactured goods without anyone really thinking or even knowing about it. I think moving that tax into the open has been nothing but trouble in the public arena.

I think it is good that it moved into view, but what it has done is bring out the whining freeloaders who want everything for nothing.

I think the louder the person is that protests, the less tax that person actually pays into the system and the more likley it is that that person is a net winner from all the government services the person makes use of.

Okay ... fire away at me at will!!! LOL

Okay Gus, I'll fire away at you.

When the GST came in I was studying economic with someone from New Zealand where a "GST" had been in place before Canada. In New Zealand the government made sure that the removal of the manufacturing tax was passed on and not pocketed as extra income. In Canada I do not recall any prices going down, so we just ended up paying 7% more.

Yes the HST will help with some items for my company and yes I will be able to claim it, but my customers will be paying HST on everything so it will mean less business.

I voted for Campbell. I trust they are doing the right thing on this. I don't bash NDP but rather well I pay to attention. If I see an idea from either party I tend to lean my support.

Those of you who think it will actually make a difference need to give your heads a shake. Do you really think that our government is going to look at all of these petitions and suddenly decide it's not such a great idea? Not a chance.
PR stunt for Skakun. I like the guy, but it is a little late getting started, kind of seems like an afterthought.

Sure, sign the petition. Sure, complain, complain, complain. I will, but I seriously doubt it is going to make any bit of difference.

I wonder how many people who are bitching and complaining actually voted for this clown, or even voted at all?

I think that the government had better listen, they work for us, they were elected by the people. They lied about BC Rail and they lied and said they would not implement the HST. They were elected on a platform that said they would not be applying any more taxes. Maybe it's time to recall this government. Piss people off enough and there will be consequences.
I'm all for recall if that's what it takes to send a message this government and other deceitful politicians then I'm for it. I've had enough.

Yeah... I've had enough too... but where to move ? Where to move ???

Ahhh... maybe Alberta... No, wait... they are such bad drivers I wouldn't last long enough to get through the second round-a-bout !!!!


ARRGGGGGHHHHHH....

:-)

V.

This is a VAT, same as Britain has. Ask anyone there what they think of it? As long as the political system stays as is, we will have tax increases upon increases. No one wants to vote for anyone with a real policy so you get what you vote for. Then you vote them in again. Then one more time so they can fill their other pockets. Then you have a hate vote and vote in more socialists- - that's REAL bright! The BC Refederation party (I'm not talking the 'seperatist' Western Refed)doesn't want people who follow the old format. They want the people to have the power and the Premier to do as they say or lose his job.

The Manufacturing Sales Tax that was eliminated in 1991 was a tax on all products manufactured in Canada. As an example if you bought business cards manufactured in a Printing Shop in Prince George they assessed a 13.5% MST. This tax was also applied to all products manufactured in Canada, and therefore applied to Exports. Industry of course would have to pay the tax to the Government on Export goods (Which covers about 80% of all goods manufactured in Canada. The cost of the tax was hidden in the cost of the sale price of the product.

Industry had the Canadian Goverment cancel the MST of 13.5% because they said they couldnt compete on the world stage with this tax in place, and the Government introduced the GST at 7% to ensure that they did not lose any revenue.

What this means in simplistic terms is that Canadian consumers paid all the taxes that used to be paid by exporting companies.

The Liberals now want to introduce the HST which will blend the 7% Provincial Sales Tax and the 5% GST for a MST of 12%. Companies who used to pay PST to the Provincial Government will now pay 12% MST however like the GST they will be able to write off the tax paid against the tax collected, and as a result will pay no MST. Thats why business's stands to save $150,000,000.00 . The Provincial Government of course does not want to lose $150 Million in revenue so they have applied the blended rate of 12% to most producted that were exempt from the GST. This broadens the tax base, and as a result they stand to make more money than they were under the old system.

The problem is, at the end of the day, consumers will pay this tax, not industry, so we are getting a tax increase of approx $1500.00 to $2100.00 per year per family, depending on what you buy etc;

This is a **smoke and mirrors** move by the Province to give a break to industry, get more taxes for themselves, and stick it to the taxpayers. They are counting on the people of BC to be too stupid to catch on to what is actually taking place.

From some of the comments on these posts I think that they are right, and that a lot of people havent got a clue as to what this tax is about.

They are counting on the people of BC to be too stupid to catch on to what is actually taking place.

From some of the comments on these posts I think that they are right, and that a lot of people havent got a clue as to what this tax is about.

I agree palopu. After reading some of the comments, I can only shake my head.
The comment about having to give up a box of beer a month says it all. God help us.

I want to stop the HST too, tax us some other way !!....er, wait a minute.....

You know that is how it ends up. What does it matter, what mechanism they use to raise the money they are counting on ?

If you want to sign Skakun's petition, he's got it on his desk, under Carole James' skirt.

Like I said Junco do the math. If you are middle class like I am it is going to cost me somewhere between $24 to $28 bucks a month more than it does now, and there are ways to lower that. You should do a little more research.

I've done the research. $24 to $28 bucks a month? Do you live in mom's basement? Every article out there says it will cost the average household between 1200 to 1500 a year. By my own calculations I figure my household will be impacted by at least $1500 a year and I can't cut back on my boxes of beer because I don't buy any. I will be paying on medications, home heating, hydro, foodstuffs, just for starters. Do some research, don't just figure out what you will be paying extra on a box of beer.

Throw in Haircuts, Golf Fees, Restaurants, Movies, Second Hand Cars, Houses over $400,000.00 etc; etc; etc; and before you know it your taxes have gone up $1500.00 per year per household, or more.

As an example if you purchase a house after July 1, 2010 for $450,000.00 (Dont laugh some people actually do this) you will be taxed an HST tax of 12% this amounts to $54,000.00. The Government will refund you $20,000.00, so you will end up paying $34,000.00 in taxes. That is a huge increase over what you would have paid in 2009, so dont kid yourself, there is a huge cost attached to this tax.

Oh, I forgot about the beer.

If there wasnt huge money in this tax for both the Government and Business, then why would they bother implementing it?

faxman wrote, "If the Provincial Government agrees to stop the implementation of the HST we the undersigned hereby agree to stop whining about the state of our health care system, the state of our education system, the state of our roads and the state of anything else that is funded by taxpayer money."

Give me a freaking break. We "need" the HST to cover these expenses like we need a hole in the head.

We already pay MSP in BC, and school taxes. If there is a lack of money in their budgets, these are the taxes to look at, not a regressive blanket tax which hurts the most vulnerable.

We're already paying huge gas taxes, and if they were actually spent on road maintenance, we would have the greatest roads on the planet.

By the way, not all provinces even charge an equivalent of MSP.

What BC taxpayers NEED is less P3 projects which end up costing taxpayers more, and any measure of accountability from our government. Does government always get a free pass with your money?

I think the money is needed more for 2010.

Pay the 1500 bucks then . I'm not going to.