WHEREAS the Harmonized Sales Tax HST will impose an additional 7 tax on consumer goods that are currently PST exempt, including school supplies, restaurant meals, hydro bills, safety equipment, strata fees, and new homes; and will have a significant impact on existing and future rental stock; AND WHEREAS the HST will shift 1.9 billion in taxes annually to individual tax payers, who will face an average tax increase of 800 per year; AND WHEREAS the BC government has indicated that increased revenues generated by the HST will be used to subsidize business, but none of the new tax revenues will be used to fund healthcare, education, affordable housing or job creation; AND WHEREAS the BC government did not consult British Columbians or municipalities on the effects of the HST: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities request that the provincial government abandon its plan to implement a Harmonized Sales Tax HST.
MINISTRY OF FINANCE British Columbia intends to harmonize its provincial sales tax with the federal goods and service tax effective July 1, 2010. The HST is the single biggest thing government can do to improve British Columbias economy. It is an essential step to make British Columbia businesses more competitive, encourage billions of dollars in new investment, lower costs on productivity and reduce administrative costs for British Columbian taxpayers and businesses. Most importantly, this will create jobs and generate long-term economic growth that will in turn generate more revenue to sustain and improve crucial public services. The Province will provide a rebate of 75 per cent of the provincial portion of the HST paid by municipalities to ensure that, on average, they will pay no additional provincial sales tax due to harmonization. Since 2001, the British Columbia government has taken significant steps to reduce taxes for British Columbian families and improve the competitiveness of the British Columbia tax system for business. The overall tax burden is generally the second lowest in Canada for British Columbian families and will remain so after harmonization, primarily as a result of significant provincial personal income tax cuts, while corporate income taxes have been reduced and corporate capital taxes have been eliminated.