Poll - Should the Province bring in the HST?

Should the Province of Manitoba bring in the HST?

From Wikipedia.
The Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) is the name used in Canada to describe the combination of the federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the regional Provincial Sales Tax (PST) into a single value added sales tax ^[1] in five of the ten Canadian provinces: British Columbia, Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia. The HST is collected by the Canada Revenue Agency, which remits the appropriate amounts to the participating provinces. The HST may differ across these five provinces, as each province will set its own PST rates within the HST.
The introduction of the HST changes the PST for these provinces from a cascading tax system, which has been abandoned by most economies throughout the world,^[2][3] to a value added tax like the GST.
To maintain the progressive nature of total taxes on individuals, the Canadian government (for the GST) and the five provincial governments have accompanied the change from a cascading tax to a value-add tax with a reduction in income taxes, and instituted direct transfer payments (refundable tax credits) to lower-income groups, resulting in lower tax burdens on the poor.^[4][5] The federal government provides a refundable "GST Credit" of up to $248 per adult and $130 per child to low income people for 2009-10.^[6] Provinces offer similar adjustments, such as Newfoundland and Labrador providing a refundable tax credit of up to $40 per adult and $60 for each child.
Most economists support the change from a cascade tax to a value added tax ^[7][8][9] and studies have shown that the national and provincial governments have succeeded in keeping the change to a value added tax revenue neutral,^{[2][10][11][12]}

If Manitoba were to implement the HST, you would then be paying tax on all children's items, food and anything else that is GST exempt now. There has been quite a substantial effort put forth by the former government in BC to have this implementation reversed and the current provincial government is actually looking at the possibility of doing just that because that is what the people of BC are demanding. When this most recent implementation in BC and Ontario was first put forth, Manitoba was also part of the scheme but our provincial governement said NO to implementation for the reasons I mentioned above (among others).

Not necessarily Holly. The provincial government can exempt certain items. Not sure what items and if only for a time-limited time...

I have been to both Ontario and Saskatchewan in the last month and the difference to the bottom line when eating out or shopping is tremendous. My colleagues from Ontario did all their xmas shopping in Regina when they had the chance. The BC example shows that this can easily be an issue to topple leaders, and I doubt that a Manitoba government would be stupid enough to even consider it. If revenue need to be increased there are more options available, such as environmental or luxury taxes, or adding an additional tax step for extreme income earners.

Seems that all they would need to do is exempt anything that is already GST-exempted. Or maybe there's more involved. I do seem to recall that the BC premier resigned due to the HST.

"The premier has seen his popularity plummet since announcing the HST last year, just weeks after a provincial election campaign in which his party said it wasn't contemplating such a switch.

What began as grumbling about the combined tax grew to a roar. The province's unique petition act opened the door for charismatic former premier Bill Vander Zalm to mount a hugely successful campaign against the tax, gathering more than a half-million signatures across the province."

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/bc-premier-gordon-campbell-resigns-calls-for-quick-leadership-race-106630018.html

Ummm, what about the concept of decreasing the PST to say 5%, which would certainly go a long way to deflecting angst over HST vs separate GST/PST?

HST came in in BC this July, with promises of being so much better for everyone, and something nobody would ever notice.

As expected, it was a total crock, and when you eat out/pay for your children's sports/attend entertainment etc. you get nailed. BC had it tacked on to several things that Ontario did not, as I remember comparing notes with my friend who lives in Hamilton. One of the items that got taxed that wasn't previously was snack foods. Buy pop, chips, etc. and feel the wrath. It also makes a nasty impact on how much you have to pony up for services like realtor fees, lawyers, notaries etc. and new home purchases (not resale homes, mind you.)

There is also a lot more to BC's premier stepping down besides HST, but that is the icing on the proverbial cake, as it were. One of his potential successors, Kevin Falcon, is campaigning on decreasing the HST to 10%. I'm watching to see how that floats with the public.

It is another big business saver not you and I my power bill in Ont when I had the cabin went up 38 dollars a month approx

How does a consumption tax favour big business and not the consumer?

HST shifts a higher portion of taxation away from business and puts it on the individual. Registered businesses that pay HST are eligible to get it back from the government. Those who bear the major brunt of it (middle class, working class & seniors) will not.

Lower income earners are now paying more of their limited income into a tax today, and while schemes to reimburse them in the form of annual rebates etc. may arise only people with a very limited income will get that back. It's hard for seniors/the disabled etc. who don't have extra income to now have to extend that money constantly up front. Items like prescription medication went up to a 12% tax, and for some people, that is a really, really big deal over the course of the year.

It has been a real kick in the head to the restaurant industry, which, in Vancouver, employs a lot of the same lower-income earners. Previously both taxes were not assessed on a food bill. This kills tips, limits patronage, discourages people from taking advantage of items the restaurant would previously upsell.

Sourpuss is bang on with her assesment. Not to mention that the only real benefit is a reduced cost for business' associated with the reduced amount of paper work/accounting costs. No benefit for the average consumer, only negative consequences.

The "only" benefit is a reduced cost to business. Isn't that kind of important, afterall, business does not exist for the purpose of collecting taxes on behalf of government.

I mean, afterall, we wouldn't want to make things simpler and cheaper for small business owners, would we?

Spoken like a true Stephen Harper disciple

Hey Pav, why is it you can't discuss something without throwing in politician's names? Did Katz run over your dog? Did Harper do your wife? Like just stick to the issue. Your pseudo-political insight is bullshit and very tiring.

If you can't present anything solid, don't go away mad, just go away.

Freeman wrote:The "only" benefit is a reduced cost to business. Isn't that kind of important, afterall, business does not exist for the purpose of collecting taxes on behalf of government.

I mean, afterall, we wouldn't want to make things simpler and cheaper for small business owners, would we?

Not at the expense of increasing costs for everyone else. I mean, don't small business owners need customers that still have some disposable income to spend?

As Sourpuss noted above, while the HST may help some business by simplifying their paper work it can also do a lot of harm to industries that require customers with disposable income eg. service industries.

Why is everyone always attacking Pavola?

If the HST causes more paperwork for business' then to hell with them!
I fill out PST forms every month for my business- It takes 3 minutes

The GST taxes that I pay as a business are all credited when I fill out my Federal form, so I remit what I charged on the selling price less what I paid on the cost side.
I believe that that HST tax whacked consumers because certain items were not being charged that tax.

In B.C. consumers complained about it, and the Premier wisely stepped down.
Back in 1990 when the GST started, consumers stopped spending even though the goods that they were buying did not cost any extra money.
Just seeing the GST on bills caused a huge down turn in retail sales.
I remember my store sales dropping 40%.
That was Conservative legislation! Brian Mulrooney!
It actually made things simpler to calculate, and helped exporters who previously had to figure in a 11% manufacturing, "hidden" tax!