The question that I would like to ask is do you as a taxpayer and consumer support paying more in sales taxes on the possibility of lowering business taxes? For as much as I am a fan of making Canada competitive economically, I do not support doing it by boosting sales taxes. I have always been a strong supporter of the Conservative initiative to reduce the GST. The father of economics Adam Smith regarded consumption as the beating heart of capitalism, where Karl Marx regarded consumption as the root of all evil. I am an economist who supports the lowest possible sales tax; but I suppose at the end of the day economics is a social science, not an exact science.
The HST is destroying Gordon Campbell. Nobody wants it because it represents a massive increase in the sum total of sales taxes with the promise of possibly reducing business costs. It will not be a zero sum tax, as the GST was originally promised to be. It will increase provincial government revenue. The whole reason people are pissed off is that hundreds, if not thousands, of consumer products and services are about to become more expensive. Gord had the option of not adding PST to previously PST-exempt goods, and Gordo turned down the offer.
I am in favour of the HST, but only as it will ensure that Ole Dalton McGuinty doesn't get elected again.
ReplyDeleteGC promised no HST during the campaign and 3 days after winning he started negotiations with the Federal Gov't.
ReplyDeleteIs it possible a tax revolt is just the voters hittin a wall of expenses and broken promises?
Dalton has not denied he will bring in the HST and the protests in Ontario are very small.
Reminds me of the GST flip flop by the Liberals. They don't get it, and they did not explain why they reversed on their campaign promises regarding GST and Free Trade.
Any of you posters in business for yourselves?
ReplyDeleteYou only pay GST on what you spend? Try it from a business perspective. We pay on what we purchase and then on what we earn.
I contract my services out. I am required as a business to charge and to remit 5% of the total dollar value of that contract to the federal government, or go to jail.
I look at GST as a "rental fee" charged by the federal government as if my business was a piece of their "rental" equipment inventory and I am the unpaid tax collector of this rental fee.
It is a direct tax on my labour (I'm the only employee) and my corporate earnings and from where I sit it is charged as if my business was "chattal property" of the federal government. They are not content to tax all profit with none of the risks, they then tax all earnings that I charge to my clients as well as a percent fee. Hire me ya gotta pay these guys, too on top. Fugeddaboudit!
Tell me, are businesses exempt from HST and do only consumers pay it? I doubt it. Just another "S" tax (screw tax) to expand the tax take of local government.
I favour HST over the soon-to-be-replaced PST, which is a terrible investment-killing tax. However, I dislike tax increases because governments at all levels in Canada have quite enough money to carry out their mandates.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with Ontario's implementation is the HST will not be revenue neutral as originally promised. Dalton and his gang are too greedy for that. They could have lowered the rate of tax, but chose instead to gouge more money out of us.
The HST is is good idea IF THERE IS LITTLE INCOME TAX. Gordon Campbell is spending like a drunken soldier on co-funded projects to benefit his developer and other business friends, as well as American hydro/rail thieves. Check out our very own carbon credit regime, which is where http://news.therecord.com/News/article/729462 This is where our money goes. The HST will go there as well.
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