To the Editor,
Re: Voters must agree to extinguish HST, Letters, June 2.
What really outrages me is that the FightHST organization was granted $250,000 of taxpayers’ funds in order to continue to boldly communicate misrepresentations and falsehoods about tax policy.
To put this into perspective, just as B.C. sets its own personal income tax rates and corporate tax rates, it has not lost its sovereignty over its provincial HST rate, as FightHST continues to claim.
B.C. sets its own HST rate, which is at 12 per cent, (7 per cent PST plus 5 per cent GST) but is scheduled to be reduced to 10 per cent.
Terry Hand also appears to be concerned that the HST has a negative impact on small business and in that regard, I wonder why he hasn’t explained to your readers that registered voters will be voting on the HST Extinguishment Act, which was drafted by the FightHST organization and which is retroactive legislation.
The act provides, among other things, that any business person, who has paid and claimed the seven per cent component of the HST and received a rebate of same, would have to repay it to the government.
Many months ago, even the NDP acknowledged how unworkable the HST Extinguishment Act actually is.
As a result of the B.C. government’s $500,000 Public Dialogue Fund, forums on the HST have taken place in several B.C. communities, since May 24.
At the forum in Surrey, on June 2, it was noteworthy that FightHST panelist Bill Tieleman disclosed a major motivating factor that got him involved with FightHST. It seems that many of Tieleman’s clients are unions, and apparently, unions are not eligible to claim a rebate of the seven per cent tax that they pay on his consulting services.
FightHST would have us believe it’s campaigning for ‘the people’.
Janet Irvine
Nanaimo