Editor:
There are some who subscribe to the idea that if the lie is big enough and repeated often enough, there are those who will believe it.
Such is the case with the government’s advertising campaign regarding the HST. They try to persuade us that all financial transactions in B.C. were subject to GST. Nothing could be further truth. There are countless examples of GST-exempt transactions; hair salons, barbershops and restaurant meals are just three.
I find it insulting the B.C. government thinks I would sell my HST vote for $120, so that instead of paying $6,000 in tax per year I would only have to pay $5,880 per year in tax at 10 per cent instead of 12 per cent.
I am not that naive or stupid.
While the government says the HST is good for B.C., I fail to see how it is good for British Columbians.
I heard the BC Liberals want to change their name. How about “The Hole In The Wall Gang”?
Barry Gaudin, White Rock
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The government and big business is doing all they can to promote a “No” to the HST question.
That question alone is misleading and apt to confuse. “Yes” means get rid of the HST; “No” means keep it.
Finance Minister Kevin Falcon, a very astute man, claims that if the HST stays the way it is, with minor concessions down the road, the average family will have a tax reduction of $120 a year. He does not tell us how he arrived at this magic figure.
Firstly: the two per cent reduction kicks in in 2014. Secondly: two per cent of 12 per cent reduces the HST burden of $350 a year per family to about $290. Thirdly: The government has not said they would give up the extra tax on many items added lately, which amount to about 20 per cent of the HST. Fourthly: the extra payment given to low-income earners will be offset by the said 20 per cent which is now added to the HST.
Fifthly: big business will probably give the additional income to their shareholders, not customers, as boards determine dividends. Sixthly: Many restaurants and other small businesses are being closed, due to the additional tax. So where are the masses of new employees?
Economists have brainwashed many. They are mostly employed by business and know what is good for them.
I myself am not an NDPer and favour the Liberals, but the HST is a bad thing for the average B.C. resident.
That is why I will vote ‘yes’; get rid of it.
Bernie Baumgartel, Surrey
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Hmmm, first we had a sales tax called the PST, imposed by our provincial government. Then our federal government imposed a GST. Then the two of them got together and decided to harmonize an HST on us.
End result? We pay more, and tax exemptions have largely disappeared. And do you really think either government will ever renounce this tax?
Forget about which parties are in power in far-off places like Victoria and Ottawa; they all want lots of our money – which is frequently used to bribe us.
Nothin’ wrong with spending taxes on good things like health care or education, if done wisely. But maybe all sorts of money is wasted in all sorts of places, too.
I think it’s best to say “Yes, we don’t want the HST” – what a convoluted way to phrase the question – and send all them politicos back to the drawing boards so we can pay less on everything we pay for, goods or service!
Some jurisdictions are smarter than us and don’t charge a sales tax at all. Maybe there is a better way we can pay for our necessary services. At least give us the chance to decide our future course of action without being fed an ‘unbiased’ line by the stick-men – also paid for by us.
Roll back the clock to Day 1 and let’s have an inclusive discussion on how the majority of us want to raise money to provide our essential services.
Fred Amos, Surrey