The HST is a tough call.
There is no doubt that it is deeply unpopular -- I hear this all the time at townhalls and community meetings.
That said, unifying the provincial and federal sales taxes makes economic sense and has been a Liberal policy for years. Yes, it is unpopular and we will take a hit both federally and provincially for supporting HST but sometimes good policy has to trump politics.
See John Manley in today's Globe:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/ignatieff-made-the-right-call-on-the-hst/article1393379/
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has come under fire from some members of his own party for supporting the federal government's plan to enable Ontario and British Columbia to harmonize their retail sales taxes with the GST.
At first glance, it might seem the critics have a point. Taxes are never popular. The way some Liberal MPs see it, it would be smarter to let Prime Minister Stephen Harper carry the can for helping to implement the new harmonized sales tax in Ontario and B.C.
But the critics are wrong. In agreeing to support the Conservative government's HST legislation, Mr. Ignatieff made the right choice – for three very sound reasons.
First, the HST bill is fully consistent with long-standing federal Liberal Party policy. After all, in the mid-1990s, it was Jean Chrétien's government that persuaded Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador to harmonize their provincial sales taxes with the GST, just as Ontario and B.C. are proposing to do now.
The Liberal government's policy back then was the same as the Conservative government's today: to encourage the remaining provinces with retail sales taxes to harmonize as a means of improving Canada's ability to compete internationally. For Liberal MPs to turn around and vote against the HST-enabling legislation would therefore represent a significant policy flip-flop.
The second reason Mr. Ignatieff's position makes sense is that retail sales tax harmonization is fundamentally a matter of provincial jurisdiction. The duly elected governments of Ontario and B.C. have decided to reform and streamline the system by which they tax the sale of goods and services. Federal legislation is required to make it happen and to compensate consumers during the transition period. Beyond that, it should be left to the provinces to determine what is in their respective interests.
6 comments:
Is this like the third secret of the Roman Catholic Church? What's the third reason?
John Manley?
Puhlease! What a joke to cite the views of John Manley to make your weak case for supporting the HST.
John Manley is the new head of the CCCE for goodness sakes.
He is now employed full time as a paid lobbyist for a group of corporations who are the beneficiaies of this windfall tax cut for corporations.
What did you expect him to say, that the HST is a shifting of tax burden from corporations on to the shoulders of individuals?
Of course not. That would be telling the truth.
James,
Where's the 3rd of your "3 reasons"? Also, I disagree with you on this topic. Many, many people will feel this crunch in their wallets & it's going to really hurt.
Dear HST Facts:
How nice of you to selectively cite from the TD Study....the same TD Study that said Ontarians' purchasing power would be reduced by the HST.
Perhaps your handle would be more accurate if you called yourself HST Selective Facts instead of HST Facts?
That's the crux of this issue,. Consumers lose, corporations win.
If the HST were as wondrous as you claim it will be in terms of its effects on the economy, then why is it not self funding, rather than being fully funded on a dollar basis by consumers?
Oh, I forgot, HST Facts is really a computer-operated "Special Ops" unit of the McGuinty government that is being employed to put out all the viral fires that are raging over the internet on this inane HST, so I really shouldn't expect a response.
Another prime example of McGuinty's one-way democracy in action.
CAITI, you're an idiot and your self-funding argument is just bizarre. Yes, the TD study found that the price of goods will rise by about 1.5% overall (which is hardly the 8% tax on everything you hear some people claim). However, this is more than offset by a series of tax cuts and credits. This tax reform is more than just about harmonization of the ORST and GST it is about tax reform. And the overall tax reform leaves all tax payers better off. There isn't a single study out there that shows otherwise.
"No one believes that Ontario will emerge from this recession the same as it went in. We need to become more competitive. "
The recession wasn't caused by a lack of competitiveness. So emerging from it more competitive, well, that might be nice, but I'm not sure I see the clear linkage here.
If it's unpopular, it shouldn't be done. This country is at least marginally democratic. Why is this such an important policy change that it should "trump politics"? Best-case, a minor increase in efficiency in terms of how taxes are handled.
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