Skip to content

Holding a referendum on the HST

At the end of June, you will receive a mail in ballot that has far more significance over the future of British Columbia then perhaps many realize.

A recent independent report prepared for government recently stated that while low income families are paying less under the Harmonized Sales Tax, the average family in B.C. is on average paying close to $1 a day more in provincial taxes as a result of the HST.

The added money the majority of you are paying means that the government is also getting increased revenue and in the vast majority of cases those who employ you also now have one less cost to pass down to their customers.

While the report concluded what other economist have also confirmed, that the HST will create more jobs and help our economy be more competitive with other jurisdictions, it does not change the fact that you, as citizens, will be paying more.

Having the choice to paying more in taxes as opposed to not paying more is precisely the reason why most pundits predict the HST referendum will potentially fail.

One of the reasons why I first ran for public office was in part a strong desire to see lower and more competitive taxation here in British Columbia and on the surface the HST appears to go against that.

However, as a form of taxation the HST is about an efficient and as fair a tax as you will find.

A move back to the PST will see literally hundreds of millions of dollars taken off the top and spent in re-hiring government tax collectors and paying PST commissions to our PST registrants for remitting the PST to Victoria.

Ultimately, this loss in revenue due to increased administration costs carries a price.

Further, as the PST ultimately nets less revenue overall when compared to the HST, that too means that combined there is less money flowing to government to provide important services like health care and education.

Some of you might see less revenue  to Government as a positive.

However, as your MLA over the past year I have met with citizen’s who work in health care,  advocates from social services, education partners from both the K-12 and post secondary communities, users of B.C. parks, different parent groups and individual citizens.

While most every one of these groups or individuals had different concerns the reality, as is often the case, is that we cannot continue to provide health care and education amongst other important services, without adequate funding.

Many have told me that existing funding levels are under pressure and increased funding is necessary to maintain the services we all depend upon and often take for granted as both British Columbians and Canadians.

As the HST referendum approaches I do not intend to try and sell you on the HST.

No type of taxation will ever be perfect and each taxation system has various advantages and disadvantages.

What I would like to ask the citizen’s of this region is to think very carefully about how much you value the services we as taxpayers receive and in what manner would you prefer to pay for those services.

Should taxation be efficient and as fair to all as is possible? Or would you prefer increased administration expenses provided it arbitrarily means that some sectors of the economy can be PST tax free?

On June 24 you will get to decide.

For further information please do not hesitate to contact my office.

Bill Barisoff is the MLA for Penticton.