Editor:
I really get a kick out of these people who insist that ‘Big Business’ must pay their fair share of taxes. Or those who don’t care if small business, or any business, will be helped out by the HST.
The fact is, and it’s quite simple, if a business’s tax is increased, that business will increase the costs of its products to compensate. At the same time, there is a good chance that the business will also reduce its workforce in order to cut its costs.
This is pretty basic stuff which only needs a small bit of intelligence and common sense to understand.
Yes, the way the HST was implemented was dumb, but at the end of the day, it is saving businesses money and it will help to keep businesses operating.
There is more than just a seven per cent savings for business, as the paperwork becomes simpler. Saves the government a bit, too, in less separate paperwork being sent in.
Business is there to make a profit. Period. No profit, no business. No business, no jobs. It is that simple.
Don’t kid yourself. The consumer always pays for higher taxes – either through increased costs, or by lowered wages or losing jobs.
The HST is actually protecting us in that way, as we now have the choice whether or not to make a purchase and pay the tax.
When business pays high taxes, that choice is taken away from us.
Harald Gill, Surrey
• • •
Question for government:
Do the people who are voting against HST want to wait for three years for a change?
They want the change now.
Ralph E. Johnson, Surrey
• • •
HST or GST/PST. That is the question.
In the early days of the battle, we are bombarded with government-advertised “stick people” telling their “unbiased” opinions of the debate.
There is nothing fair or unbiased about the ads. The GST/PST stick supporters are fewer in number and appear unsmiling, unsure, bewildered and angry. They seem to have little cohesiveness – shown by their distance from each other. Many of their signs are obscured.
The HST stick supporters are more united, as evidenced by their closeness to each other. They have more members with smiling and positive faces. They show solidarity with more visible and clear signage.
The ads say: decide for yourself; to learn more, go online.
The problem is, there are voters out there who don’t own a computer – gasp! – and/or have limited or no access or are computer challenged.
These ads assume Internet access. There are no other options given.
So, on behalf of these voters I say: indirectly or subconsciously we are seeing these biased ads and have no avenue to learn more. Voter apathy arises from people who are not able to make an informed decision.
Hopefully, somewhere between now and July 22, all residents of B.C. will have the information made available to participate in this important decision.
Barbara Turner, White Rock