I’m a bit bewildered by the swirl of comments concerning the upcoming implementation/imposition of the Harmonized Sales Tax (coming to a grocery store and hydro bill near you on July 1), aka HST, aka Hated Sales Tax.
For example, here are a few comments from the editorial (‘HST spells hurt’) in the May 20 issue of the Londoner:
- The harmonized tax will hurt families
- The amount of money the government will collect in taxes will remain roughly the same - or could even drop
- But individuals will pay more on a vast range of items
- Businesses will get a tax break
- The government tells us companies will pass on those savings to consumers
- Finance Minister Duncan says the tax cuts to individuals actually exceed cuts to corporations
- Duncan says, “Overall, 93 per cent of Ontarians will pay less in taxes.”
Confused yet? It’s a bad thing? It’s a good thing?
I’m not sure yet.
All I know is the HST is coming and it sounds like the kind of event that will require daily scrutiny, yearly reviews and a thorough summary in five years to see if anything good or bad has actually happened to individuals and corporations.
Oh, and I also know that a lot of other expenses (or ‘thing$’ as I like to call them) are heading North so I can understand why a lot of people really hate even the thought of a higher tax and are now willing to storm Parliament Hill in Ottawa and Queen’s Park in Toronto.
Now, I’m not going to storm anyone’s front lawn until I’ve seen a couple of the annual reviews.
There are going to be annual reviews, right?
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