Liberals Slam HST Debate Door Shut with Legislative Closure

Victoria BC - By stifling debate in the legislature and calling for the final vote today on the controversial Consumption Tax Rebate and Transition Act, the BC Liberals have moved a major step closer to implementing a massive and largely unwelcome tax shift in our province.

MLAs were denied the opportunity to fully debate concerns on behalf of their constituents, as the Liberal government rushed to pass this bill before the end of April to enable transitional rules that actually take effect May 1st.  Consumers will pay the 5% GST rather than the 12% HST if they prepay for services like ski passes, concert tickets, airline flights, and even summer camps for kids that will occur after July 1st, but only if those purchases are made prior to May 1st.  For people who didn’t know about this sudden change, or can’t afford to pay now for goods and services later, they will face the higher tax rate in May, even though the HST is not supposed to be implemented until July.

Delta South MLA Vicki Huntington raised questions about several items in the act, pointing out the basic unfairness of defining children’s clothing for exemption based on size instead of age. Ironically, a large 10-year-old may require clothing that will be taxable, while an affluent but petite adult could avoid that tax. The minister’s response – that it was easier for collection of the tax  – means the system itself is a higher priority than the users of the system.

 “The Liberals promised during the election campaign that they would not bring in the HST. They then argued that they needed the $1.6 billion signing bonus from the federal government to cover a provincial deficit that had mysteriously quadrupled in size just after the election. They insisted that voters who are opposed to the HST simply don’t understand it. And now they have muzzled members who are trying to scrutinize the impact of this colossal tax shift from the industrial sector to the backs of taxpayers,” Delta South MLA Vicki Huntington said.

Huntington echoed the grave doubts of many constituents that benefits from industry will ever trickle down to consumers, calling it “economic pixie dust”. She also expressed fears that the underground economy will grow as people disengage from the system – a potentially disastrous unintended consequence of this controversial tax.

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Contact:    Delta South Constituency Office
4805 Delta Street
Delta BC  V4K 2T7
p: 604-940-7924
e: vicki.huntington.mla@leg.bc.ca