Soon we will have to return our vote to either reinstate the PST or remain with the HST. It’s a hard decision to make.
The BC Liberals arbitrarily made the move to HST without my input and it’s plain why. They were able to gain tax income from services, which they didn’t get under the PST.
They presented it as a national requirement, never once admitting that it was their initiative until it was too late. Now they offer to drop taxes by two per cent over three years if we keep the HST.
How do we know they won’t just plug the “hole” with another tax if we vote the HST down? They could arbitrarily add the services tax into the PST. It’s hard to trust.
I don’t believe that it would cost over $3 billion to go back to the old system. That’s just a thinly disguised scare tactic. They never mentioned how much it cost to implement the HST. A lot less, I’d guess.
Alternatively, we know that the anti- HST campaign is primarily a move by the NDP to undermine the Liberals and they’ve won a lot of support. It would be a real shame if they got to spend all that nice money that’s been won from us by our representatives, and spend it they would, along with whatever they could borrow.
I agree with the Liberals in the concept that the best way to help the poor is to grow the entire BC economy. I don’t see why I should change that viewpoint just because Gordon Campbell (who picked a great time to drop out) made a poor PR move in pushing the HST through without public input. If it’s so good then why didn’t he sell it to us honestly?
When did our government’s priority move from managing our affairs efficiently to getting as much out of us as possible? Who’s happy with the HST vs. PST decision we now have to make? It’s like a blind farmer walking through a cow field. Whichever way he goes there’s the same stuff on the ground.
I propose a new political party that is actually transparent. It would be a world first.
David Hubbard
