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The HST selling job

22 June 2010 4 Comments

The provincial Liberal government is making its last minute push to convince Ontarians that the HST is a good tax that will not change very much. I received in the mail last week a booklet that lists a number of items that would be affected by the HST. These items were buried amongst many more items that would not be affected by the HST. Visually, it looks like most things will stay the same. This is not true.

Most services which were free of provincial sales tax will now be taxed. That is a huge list. From electricity to pet grooming to lawyers fees, all these services are now getting a new 8% added to them. On July 1, 2010, you will see gas prices jump about $0.08 a litre pushing the price comfortably over the dollar mark.

So this blog is a simple one. On July 1, 2010, the Ontario HST will come into effect and you will be paying more taxes to the provincial government.

So the real point of the selling job, in spite of the nice booklet, is will you vote for the McGuinty Liberals in October 2011? I’m sure there are more things still left to tax.

4 Comments »

Mike said:

Yes, the Liberals have broadened the tax base to include more items. Yes, the cost of living will spike a bit.
Yes, we pay a lot of taxes.
No, I am not a Liberal. However, I see the inevitability of the combined tax as a not-bad thing. Provincial coffers have been strained by the off-loading of responsibilities by the current Federal (and yes, “Reform”) Government as well as past Governments including the Late Progressive Conservative one which is still vilified for bringing about Free Trade, the GST, and the resulting collapse of the Blue Machine in Ontario. But those measures were necessary. As is the HST. Ontario has suffered collapsing infrastructure as the industrial base of the economy declines because Chinese and Third-World goods are cheaper to import than to make. Someone has to pay for maintaining the services to which we have become accustomed, as well as the services which are seen as a Right for all Ontarians.

No, I do not like higher taxes, but it is a necessary evil–regardless which “side” of the politically created divide we live on–until we come up with a better alternative to the current North American culture of over-consumption and ostentatious displays of wealth/the need to impress others.

# 22 June 2010 at 9:06 am

Barry said:

I am not sure what to make of this but it smells a lot like when the GST was introduced; the GST did make our companies somewhat more competitive, and perhaps is a bit of why our economy didn’t tank as badly as the American one did recently. If the HST does help our companies again, maybe it will be worth it. But, what we DO know is that boosting the effective price of goods will make people less interested in buying, which will hurt our retailers – and lead to layoffs. So, we are looking at probable layoffs in the retail sector versus possible hiring in the manufacturing sector; will they balance out? McGuinty sure hopes so.

# 22 June 2010 at 10:26 pm

Beauchemin Bob said:

I heard last evening on the CTV news that the HST would not be added to the purchase of gasaline in British Columbia those citizen sure know how to campaign against what the don’t like.

# 23 June 2010 at 10:39 am

Frank-Ly said:

This extra tax revenue is needed. Needed because the tough love is not being tackled because it is not sexy or offering glamorous
photo ops. They get a problem and feel they need to hurry and fix it. Create a law, institute licensing for it, hire inspectors and another level of administration, it is just crazy.

On the surface these things look good but we can not afford them.
One child was scolded ( one too many of course)so the whole province has to change the taps, courses for plumbers and yes laws changed.
We all suffer because one parent did not do their job!

Get the big rocks out of the park, someone may climb and fall, get rid of the pressure treated lumber in parks, a kid may eat 10 2X4′s and get sick.

It is just nuts!

# 23 June 2010 at 1:23 pm