HST tax in BC (vote yes to remove it, no to keep it)

[Ice]

I'm sure that the majority of you in BC have already received your HST voting package. If you haven't received it, you have to call 1-800-661-8683 (toll-free) by tonight. Otherwise, you don't get to vote.

Couple of facts that the government is trying to bribe and mislead citizens. I'm just in raged when I see all these advertisements in the media. They keep advertising the benefits of it but they don't tell you the details. Heres 2 of the main ones.

• Reducing the HST from 12% to 10% is NOT right away, that occurs 3 years later in 2014
• Not everyone gets a credit/refund back. They make it sound like everyone gets money back, but no. Only low income seniors and familes with children gets the money.

Familes buying houses and cars will save thousands of dollars compared to a hundred dollar back (which is only for those with kids or low income seniors). 12% tax on granola bars, chips and hot food is ridiculous. Paying 12% tax for restaurant meals is even more ridiculous after factoring the 10% tips we have to pay. Thats 22% extra we have to pay! :x People coming from the States are shocked they have to pay this much for meals which of course is reducing tourism.

Voting
You vote YES to remove HST and to go back to the PST and GST. You vote NO to keep it. Great way to mislead those that may not understand English into thinking that "No" is to remove the HST.

Make sure your name and details are correct. You also have to follow their procedure EXACTLY. By that, you have to put it into 3 envelopes. What a waste of paperwork, time, and money (our money) for everyone. Obviously, this is their last attempt into getting people not to vote.

Also, I would like to remind everyone that when we first voted for the Liberals, they said that would not bring in any HST tax. Once they were elected, they quickly added it. Really keeping their words.

[natelite]

there's a reason markets tank when liberals or socialists are voted into power and markets rally when conservatives are voted into power. :P

[Zeya]

Uh, wow. I'm not Canadian but this seems excessive. I'm not even sure what "HST"/"PST"/"GST" means, to be honest. But that much tax on food is not good. Here in the US, there is no tax on anything at the grocery store (except for alcohol and cigarettes). I forget the rules for fast food tax, but at sit-down restaurants there is tax. I will say that a 10% mandatory tip isn't that bad though; the culture here is to tip around 16%-18%.

I'm with you on the wording thing. That drives me nuts too. I have a college degree and I often have to read proposals over multiple times to sort out all the double-negatives and tricky wording.

Luckily, in my experience, most people don't even vote so that just leaves us who actually care making the decisions. But they mail this ballot to you guys? We have "absentee voting" here where you can request a ballot by mail and send it in; is this the same thing, or do they sent it to every household, unsolicited?

Canada: America's hat. :)

[Ice]

Ya the ballot is sent to all eligible voters which most don't even vote. With the Canada Post strike, they extended it the deadline to mail your ballots that is inside 3 envelopes by August 5. You really have to read the fine print and details on everything especially those with an *.

The old system used to be 2 tax. GST (5%) is the federal tax while PST (7%) is the provincial tax for BC. Before, certain items are only 1 tax (5% GST) like restaurant meals, services like haircuts, children's clothing, stationary, test fees. But with the HST tax which is a combination of GST and PST, almost everything gets charged 12% including houses and cars! If HST is removed, then we can all start paying 5% GST again on many items.

On a little bit of LEGO related note...LEGOShop used to charge only GST (5%). But with the HST, we're getting charged 12% tax. :(

[Zeya]

Sounds like British Columbia is to Canada what California is to the US. (I live in California.)

[hatcher]

Good luck with the vote. I am amazed you even got thrown that bit of bone. I would be stunned if your HST goes away.

Us poor slobs in Ontario, we too got hit with the HST surprise last year. Only we have to pay 13% instead of your 12. And we pay it on gasoline, electricity and natural gas (I think you got spared that.) Imagine the price of gas going up nine cents a liter overnight. And don't even get me started on my hydro bill. They also introduced smart meters and time of use pricing on our electricity.

The problem you'll have even if you win, is that the feds gave your province big money to implement the HST, and they are not going to just say "Oh, you changed your minds? That's ok, you can keep the 2 billion we gave you. No biggie." The opposition parties here in Ontario yelled and screamed about how evil the HST is, that is until the election campaign started (Provincial election in Ontario in October). Now they say they can't "afford" to get rid of it, partly due to the huge deficit we have, and partly due to the Feds "Poison Pill" included in the fine print of the money they gave us to implement it.

You have to love politicians. In opposition, everything the government does is evil, as soon as they get in power, well you know, those things they did aren't so bad after all.

[Ice]

Good luck with the vote. I am amazed you even got thrown that bit of bone. I would be stunned if your HST goes away.

We wouldn't even get a chance to vote if it wasn't for all the protesting on it. Its been a year since they introduced the HST and the fight against HST is still strong. Due to all the low approval ratings and criticism, Gordon Campbell (the premier) was forced to resign. It made us felt a bit better, but we still hate the HST.

Us poor slobs in Ontario, we too got hit with the HST surprise last year. Only we have to pay 13% instead of your 12. And we pay it on gasoline, electricity and natural gas (I think you got spared that.) Imagine the price of gas going up nine cents a liter overnight. And don't even get me started on my hydro bill. They also introduced smart meters and time of use pricing on our electricity.

I wish we don't have to pay tax on gasoline, electricity and natural gas. But its the same here in BC. We have to pay "carbon" tax on all of them. And you know what they do? The government puts the tax inside the gas price. This is suppose to "reduce" greenhouse gas emissions. I really don't know how this will reduce greenhouse gases when the majority of us drive and many rural areas don't even have transit available.

The problem you'll have even if you win, is that the feds gave your province big money to implement the HST, and they are not going to just say "Oh, you changed your minds? That's ok, you can keep the 2 billion we gave you. No biggie." The opposition parties here in Ontario yelled and screamed about how evil the HST is, that is until the election campaign started (Provincial election in Ontario in October). Now they say they can't "afford" to get rid of it, partly due to the huge deficit we have, and partly due to the Feds "Poison Pill" included in the fine print of the money they gave us to implement it.

I love how they always do that. Once you have a new tax, don't even hope for it to go away in a long time. All those parties before the campaign mentions all the benefits and good stuff they'll be doing and offering. When they get elected... hmmm I wonder what they said before...

[legohunter]

I have finally made up my mind for the HST vote. I would vote for HST removal. Following is the reason.

There are many debates for the cost of keeping or removing HST in terms of money, and there are pros and cons from each side. Thus, for me, it is very hard to make decision subject to how much the tax payer/small business could benefit.

Instead, I would like to take this opportunity ...... send a strong message to BC Liberal from voting NO HST. This party had promosed not introducing HST to B.C. but they broke this promise. This party betrayed all people who had voted for them in last election (including myself). They never offered any Referendum to B.C. people before rolling out HST. I wanna tell them they cannot do whatever they want to do when they are in power. They abuse the use of their right. I hope all parties would learn a lesson that it is wrong to ignore voters' voice.

[legohunter]

Sounds like British Columbia is to Canada what California is to the US. (I live in California.)

I used to live in bay area. ;)

[legitimatealex]

Yay politicians are scummy no matter where you go! Good luck fighting it. All of my Canadian friends and family talk about this thing incessantly as of late. I myself think that a tax on your food, no matter what it is, is ridiculous.

[Legobrandon]

The HST is 12% in BC. Why is LEGO Shop charging more than twelve percent on the same product from TRU Canada?

[Ice]

LEGOShop used to charge 5% tax for pretty much all of Canada. Ever since BC introduced the HST tax, LEGOShop started charging 12% tax. :(

The BC government obviously wants to keep the HST. Otherwise, the federal government will probably want their $1.6 billion gift back. Lets hope the results are against the HST so we can get rid of it. I'm sick of having to pay extra tax on granola bars and meals.

[Legobrandon]

LEGOShop used to charge 5% tax for pretty much all of Canada. Ever since BC introduced the HST tax, LEGOShop started charging 12% tax. :(

The BC government obviously wants to keep the HST. Otherwise, the federal government will probably want their $1.6 billion gift back. Lets hope the results are against the HST so we can get rid of it. I'm sick of having to pay extra tax on granola bars and meals.

No what I mean is that TRU.ca charges 12% tax on the Emerald Night, which is $15.60 :o . And LEGO Shop charges $17.39. Whats up with the $1.79 increase?

P.S. The next post will be your 1000th!

[legohunter]

LEGOShop used to charge 5% tax for pretty much all of Canada. Ever since BC introduced the HST tax, LEGOShop started charging 12% tax. :(

The BC government obviously wants to keep the HST. Otherwise, the federal government will probably want their $1.6 billion gift back. Lets hope the results are against the HST so we can get rid of it. I'm sick of having to pay extra tax on granola bars and meals.

I vote "NO" for HST. Hopefully, it's gonna be the majority.

Ice, looking forward your 1000th posts, too.

[ricefields]

LEGOShop used to charge 5% tax for pretty much all of Canada. Ever since BC introduced the HST tax, LEGOShop started charging 12% tax. :(

In regard to lego, even if HST were voted out in next election, and lego shop at home would ship without charging HST for a while, I think that would end when a new lego store will open in vancouver. Once that physical store goes in, you have to pay pst and gst amounting to 12% anyways in person or through online orders. If a physical store does not trigger paying pst on online orders, then forget the above.

[Ice]

No what I mean is that TRU.ca charges 12% tax on the Emerald Night, which is $15.60 :o . And LEGO Shop charges $17.39. Whats up with the $1.79 increase?

I tried adding other items and it seems like the tax rate is different for each item. For example, the Rebel Trooper Battle pack has a $2.15 tax (16.7%) while Luke's Landspeeder has a $5.15 tax (14.7%). :?

Either its a glitch or the tax rate may be adjusted when they actually charge your credit card.

I vote "NO" for HST. Hopefully, it's gonna be the majority.

Isn't "NO" in favour of keeping the HST tax? I thought "YES" is to remove it...

[legohunter]

No what I mean is that TRU.ca charges 12% tax on the Emerald Night, which is $15.60 :o . And LEGO Shop charges $17.39. Whats up with the $1.79 increase?

I tried adding other items and it seems like the tax rate is different for each item. For example, the Rebel Trooper Battle pack has a $2.15 tax (16.7%) while Luke's Landspeeder has a $5.15 tax (14.7%). :?

Either its a glitch or the tax rate may be adjusted when they actually charge your credit card.

I vote "NO" for HST. Hopefully, it's gonna be the majority.

Isn't "NO" in favour of keeping the HST tax? I thought "YES" is to remove it...

I mean "YES" to remove it. Somehow, the voting did confused people.

[Legobrandon]

No what I mean is that TRU.ca charges 12% tax on the Emerald Night, which is $15.60 :o . And LEGO Shop charges $17.39. Whats up with the $1.79 increase?

I tried adding other items and it seems like the tax rate is different for each item. For example, the Rebel Trooper Battle pack has a $2.15 tax (16.7%) while Luke's Landspeeder has a $5.15 tax (14.7%). :?

Either its a glitch or the tax rate may be adjusted when they actually charge your credit card.

I vote "NO" for HST. Hopefully, it's gonna be the majority.

Isn't "NO" in favour of keeping the HST tax? I thought "YES" is to remove it...

I mean "YES" to remove it. Somehow, the voting did confused people.

I think they deliberately worded it to be confusing for people that are voting. So I guess, many people voted/thought 'YES' because they thought that option was to extinguish the HST.

[Ice]

Posts moved and merged to HST topic.

[Legobrandon]

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