B.C. back to 5% GST + 7% PST

Must be 18 to enter! Talk about anything but Football

Moderator: Team Captains

User avatar
Sir Purrcival
Hall of Famer
Posts: 4621
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2003 11:48 am
Location: Comox Valley

You know, I am a business and I haven't raised my service rates for 3 years. I wasn't getting any great deals as a result of the HST. In fact, I got a lot of the flack because some things were taxed that weren't previously. The purse strings for some of my clients tightened a little as a result. The bulk of businesses in this province are far and away small businesses. Not the monolithic huge companies that people seem to envision when they talk about businesses profiting from the HST. Business in this province is mostly the little guy, your neighbour, your friend and the little grocery store guy who says don't squeeze the charmin. We all pay these taxes too as we consume goods and services. The main benefit for me was that I have a little less work to do every few months when it comes time to submit the tax. I certainly didn't reap huge profits from the HST so I constantly wonder where all the big profits us "business" types are making are supposed to be going.
Tell me how long must a fan be strong? Ans. Always.
User avatar
Robbie
Hall of Famer
Posts: 8380
Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2004 10:13 pm
Location: 卑詩體育館或羅渣士體育館

No April fools joke of course. I'm sure BC residents are really happy that the 12% HST has been scrapped and it has gone back to 5% GST + 7% PST.

It's somewhat unclear as to what exactly would be PST exempt, and if it would be same as pre-July 1, 2010. And as I stated before, will retailers simply increase their costs by 7% simply because BC consumers are already used to paying 12% tax anyways? :shock:

According to http://www.bclions.com/page/tickets the stated season prices do not include taxes. Will tickets be PST exempt?
If so, for the stated club seating of $1025.00, then not counting facilities feels the total cost will now be 1.05 * 1025 = $1,076.25 with a savings of 0.07 * 1025 = $71.75.

----------
But just when BC residents thought they would be saving, BC Ferry hiked their fares by 4% today. :devil:
祝加拿大加式足球聯賽不列颠哥伦比亚卑詩雄獅隊今年贏格雷杯冠軍。此外祝溫哥華加人隊贏總統獎座·卡雲斯·甘保杯·史丹利盃。還每年祝溫哥華白頭浪隊贏美國足球大联盟杯。不要忘記每年祝溫哥華巨人贏西部冰球聯盟冠軍。
改建後的卑詩體育館於二十十一年九月三十日重新對外開放,首場體育活動為同日舉行的加拿大足球聯賽賽事,由主場的卑詩雄獅隊以三十三比二十四擊敗愛民頓愛斯基摩人隊。
祝你龍年行大運。
恭喜西雅图海鹰直到第四十八屆超級盃最終四十三比八大勝曾拿下兩次超級盃冠軍的丹佛野馬拿下隊史第一個超級盃冠軍。
User avatar
Toppy Vann
Hall of Famer
Posts: 9789
Joined: Sat Jul 23, 2005 12:56 pm

Sir Purrcival wrote:You know, I am a business and I haven't raised my service rates for 3 years. I wasn't getting any great deals as a result of the HST. In fact, I got a lot of the flack because some things were taxed that weren't previously. The purse strings for some of my clients tightened a little as a result. The bulk of businesses in this province are far and away small businesses. Not the monolithic huge companies that people seem to envision when they talk about businesses profiting from the HST. Business in this province is mostly the little guy, your neighbour, your friend and the little grocery store guy who says don't squeeze the charmin. We all pay these taxes too as we consume goods and services. The main benefit for me was that I have a little less work to do every few months when it comes time to submit the tax. I certainly didn't reap huge profits from the HST so I constantly wonder where all the big profits us "business" types are making are supposed to be going.
I think gov'ts have forgotten these points in the west. My sense is that business was saving on less paper work but taxing more of the things that weren't taxed before was hard for hard pressed consumers to swallow.

Forgetting how it came in and Campbell spinning that he had no idea he'd do this post election - the HST according to economists is a better way to go. Campbell did it to improve the government's books by $2 billion of federal tax monies and he simply didn't care how it looked. He went from being a very good Vancouver Mayor who was no Art Phillips but pretty good in running a diverse city for the good of all its citizens to an elected Premier who was no longer the same person but an angry, critical and non-caring right winger.

As far as gov'ts not pushing for more money with the PST coming back - forget it. These guys in gov't are like drug addicts. They never give it up. The gov'ts starting taking a BC Hydro dividend when Glen Clark was in gov't and now they are doing the same off ICBC (where they forced extra excess capital levels onto it and put in legislation that says they can take the profits there) and they are. Campbell moved auto insur. taxes to the highest in Canada at 4.4% to pay for provincial fire fighting while our insurance policies are 2.2%. ICBC motorists are paying far more on basic and optional as a result. The 11.2% rate increase on basic this year could not have been reduced by the profits being taken by the gov't as they legislated that a subsidy. While I can see basic mandatory never subsidizing optional - the other way around was how ICBC did it for years and why not!!
"Ability without character will lose." - Marv Levy
User avatar
Sir Purrcival
Hall of Famer
Posts: 4621
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2003 11:48 am
Location: Comox Valley

The world isn't going to end because of this but I am always skeptical when Joe Q public gets to make decisions on complex issues such as this. It isn't that people aren't capable of understanding but lets face it most don't really take the time to find out one way or the other which is the better choice. I am moved by financial experts (not in government) who say that one system is out of date and unwieldy. I am not moved by emotions that impel people to act out of anger or some sense of justice. That was what the referendum represented to me. A bunch of people who were angry with the Liberals and would have done anything to make them pay for their arrogance. Not the reason to decide anything except maybe who to vote for the next election. I can't imagine anything approaching reasonable thought that would stir people to follow the banner of Bill Vander Zalm. Probably one of the most reviled political leaders this province has ever seen. A man whose leadership and apparent lack of scruples ended up in the complete destruction of a political party that had held the reins of power for the majority of several decades.

I digress. We are back to the GST/PST system and we have to live with our choice. Time will judge whether we are forward looking or looking like a group of orifices
Tell me how long must a fan be strong? Ans. Always.
Post Reply