Story?

The story is these people are business owners so of course they like the HST.

I am on a fixed income and I will tell you it has cut into my bottom line a fair bit.
No lies no hype no crap... it hurts those on a fixed income....FACT!
And please!, no the hst rebate really doesn't help much

Tim is correct in stating the HST is a real game changer. What else other than the HST could take 2 billion a year out of Joe citizen's pocket and put it in the pocket of large corporations with no effort on the Corporations part. Kind of like winning the lottery and not even having to buy a ticket.

The fact that the exporting companies are the ones who get the most benefit, maybe McEwen can explain how consumers will benefit from lowere prices. In fact they will not benefit at all.

Insofar as these business's investing the money back into their business's, there might be some truth in that statement, however one must keep in mind that a lot of these business's are internatinal in scope, so it doesnt necessarily follow that the savings wuld be put back into business's in BC.

This $1.8 Billion dollar savings to business, is a dead loss to consumers, and the best thing that can happen is to get rid of the bloody HST.

We have had enough of the BS from Government, and Business telling us this is a good tax. Good for who??? That is the question.

Its time business and Government backed away from taxing the hell out of people and settle down and learn how to be competitive, and fiscally responsible without putting their hands into the pockets of consumers.

Amen to that,Palopu!

Right-on Palopu.

Lumber is one of the products we sell a lot more to foreign markets than our own domestic BC market.

Technically speaking, if there was PST on lumber, then we should get the products at 7% less plus the 7% we now have to pay more for the tax, which should result in a o% change.

So who has gone to buy lumber and has seen the price drop by 7% since July? If no one, what audit system does the government have in place to make that determination at arms length?

Further, has the lumber price dropped 7% to the foreign clients? As a result has there been at least a 7% increase in sales to the foreign marketplace, not because of the fact that we have a commodity that they want, but because they have shifted from a previous supplier to us because we are offering a better price? Who do we have in place to audit that objectively?

If there has been an increase in sales, has there been an additional drop in price which will benefit the local purchaser or have there been additional hires as a result of the HST rather than a greater effort to sell to China or a slight up pick in the USA housing market?

If we do not see some of those benefits and the HST actually has increased the cost of lumber to us, then we are subsidizing either one or both of the manufacturers/shippers and the foreign purchasers.

I think we need to know these things before we vote in the referendum. We do not need stories, we need facts. At this time there are few facts that are audited by people in a position of trust.

Guess what? As a small business owner in PG for the last 15 years. With the arrival of the HST, there has been a zero benefit to me as a small business.

All of my clients and all of the families I represent have been negatively affected by the HST. I have recently pulled my membership to the Chamber of Commerce.

I thought they were the voice of the smaller business people in PG. I feel they no longer represent me by supporting the HST. Big business can look after themselves. Small business needs a voice at the municipal level and I thought it was our local Chamber. I'm not so sure where their support comes from any longer. So, I'm done with the Chamber. I was a member since 1993.

Good for you Chester. Hopefully they get the message.

Well done Chester!
I know of other small business owners who are furious at the B.C. Chamber in general,and are telling their customers that they will not be renewing their membership!
Looks like Spooner is trying to calm the waters!

And I told them why I was canceling my membership. So, they know it was specifically the HST issue.

Chester.

What kind of business do you operate that you have not benefited from the HST?

If you purchase any of the following things, they have all become 7% cheaper for you:

vehicles,
machinery and equipment,
tools,
office supplies,
office equipment,
cell phone service,
legal services,
computers and software,
photocopier lease/service plan,
and many others.

Almost any physical good other than inventory and a lot of services are now 7% cheaper for you.

You used to have to pay PST on all these things. Now you don't. Sure you have to pay HST but you will get every cent back as input tax credits when you do your HST return.

Also, didn't you like the fact that you didn't have to do a PST return in July, August or September?

Corporated businesses will give their wife a paycheque; that's where the savings will go. That can be easily proven. People are in business to make money, not to help the public.

kolberg..

That list you gave to Chester has not saved him 7% because he passed the savings on to the consumer.

Remember, that is what Scampbell and his team said was going to happen.

Way to go Chester on pulling your membership. I would do the same in your shoes.

Kolberg, If this was 1979 in Guyana, you'd be the one mixing the Kool-Aid, and then forcing it down peoples throats. It wouldn't surprise me one iota if you were a paid hack for the BC Liberals or the many corporations that are benefiting from the HST. You sure don't sound like someone who is in touch with the everyday working person, a person on a fixed income, or a small business owner.

Papalou you are 100% right on your statement!

In my business, I do not have to file a PST, GST or HST return. I do not receive cash and do not have a product to sell.

So, there are no tax input credits to look forward to either. I just have to pay HST on all of those things that I didn't have to pay HST on before. As a taxpayer, homeowner and consumer, I am more concerned about the additional taxes leaving my pocket than any potential benefit for somebody else.

Oh, I forgot to mention that in my business, I serve over 400 families and the HST negatively effects almost all of them. In fact, the HST now applies to the management fees of their Pensions, RRSP's and Retirement Savings. I was impressed, and once people find out the truth, they will also be.