Bill Vander Zalm
After several weeks and tens of millions of your tax dollars in wasted advertising later, the British Columbia government and their partners in the Smart Tax Alliance have spun more tall tales than the Brothers Grimm.
The myths and misinformation are piling up so high it's hard to keep track of them all. Following is a summary of their most manipulative mistruths:
• The HST is now 10 per cent. We all know its 12 per cent and will not be 10 per cent for three years - if ever. There will be an election before that, and even if the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) miraculously made it to 10 per cent, it still applies to hundreds more items than a 12 per cent PST/GST for a total tax increase of $1.6 billion per year. And who says it won't go right back up again later.
• The HST will lower taxes. The HST increases taxes for British Columbians by $2.8 billion per year. That's an average annual increase of $500 per person or $1,208 per average family - forever. Now, Finance Minister Kevin Falcon says if his side loses, he may disregard the result and expand the PST to items previously exempt, which would be illegal. Do you really trust this
guy to cut the rate if he wins?
• The HST will save you money. To show the HST actually "saving" you money, they are calculating only "routine purchases" and that 90 per cent of what you pay in HST will be passed back to you in lower prices. Have you seen lower prices? We didn't think so.
• The HST benefits seniors. Seniors and people on fixed incomes are some of the hardest hit by the HST. A one-time rebate of $175 if you vote in favour of their tax in exchange for paying it for the rest of your life is a deal only a snake-oil salesman would offer. Why take $175 when you can vote to cancel the HST and keep all your money? How dumb do they think we are?
• The HST benefits families. Next to seniors, working families are hardest hit by the HST because they are among the largest consumers and have dependent children. Bribes of $175 per child when your cost is closer to $400 a year each makes you wonder if they think all of us failed math as badly as they did. And what about a single mom with two kids going to college? She gets nothing while the premier and finance minister, who earn six-figure salaries, get the rebate. No, I'm not kidding.
• We will owe $1.6 billion if we cancel the HST. The "independent panel" states the HST generated $850 million more than budgeted. Setting aside that it's the biggest tax grab in history, it means government already has $850 million to repay Ottawa. B.C. has only received $1 billion, and Ottawa collected $300M more in corporate taxes under the HST than under the PST. So it's a wash. Keeping the HST would cost British Columbians a lot more than killing it - over $28 billion in new taxes in just 10 years.
Vote "yes" to extinguish the HST and save your province, your democracy, and your money.
Bill Vander Zalm is former B.C. premier and leader of Fight HST.
