May 18, 2010
The HST list released by the B.C. government on Friday appears to be less than complete.
For instance, The B.C. government’s HST list will not tell you that hiring a home inspector will cost more. The tax will also apply to a visit to a naturopath or Chinese medicine doctor. British Columbians will also have to pay more to park their car.
Opponents of the HST said it took a matter of hours for them to uncover items that were missing from the HST list.
“What good is this comprehensive list if it doesn’t include everything?” Chris Delaney of Fight HST told CTV News.
“It sort of makes you wonder,” he added. “You don’t know if it’s incompetence, there’s probably a little bit of that. It may also be a little bit of duplicity. They don’t want to people to know what it is actually going to impact because the outrage would be even greater.”
The lack of a comprehensive HST list affects businesses like Granville Island’s Bonnie Lee Fishing Charters. The company had been bracing for the HST for a while, but on Monday they learned that their business could be hit harder than they thought.
Not only would the HST apply to their lease on Granville Island, but also to their fishing charters and moorage, something the government didn’t include in Friday’s much-anticipated HST list.
“What you find as you get closer to it is that these taxes are actually going to affect you when you thought they weren’t going to,” said Kevin Addie of Bonne Lee Charters to CTV News. “That’s something that you haven’t planned for and it’s going to be detrimental to our business.”
The B.C. government has a disclaimer on its website saying that the HST list is not an exhaustive list.
Finance Minister Colin Hansen said the list is meant as a guide.
“We’ll certainly look at what things can be added if that’s useful information,” he said.
[CTVBC.ca]
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What I would like to see, is Hansen putting together a list of, the budget taxes and the HST, side by side. That way citizens would be able to see, where the budget doesn’t nail you the HST does. The budget nails you for, 6% hike for home heat. Hydro, is going to top up to, 33%. The new carbon tax is, 4.45, with another hike July 1st. Gasoline, rockets up, just before May long weekend, always does. Phone and cable, has the HST applied. So citizens be aware, to add the two taxes together, when you do your own personal budget. You will see, if the budget doesn’t get you the HST does. Campbell, Hansen and the BC Liberal government, are not known for their honesty, so, be prepared for other taxes showing up. The HST hits: Drywall, a can of paint, clothing, a kitchen stove, garden plants, bedding, and hundreds of other goods. Food costs, have already gone up, 27% in the last year and a half. Insurances have gone up. Hopefully the elderly living in condo’s, realize their fees are going up. The HST has a very long arm and, many of us will not survive, these most unfair taxes. Campbell, said the recession was over, so why tax people out of their homes?