In our last newsletter, CARP ActionOnline we asked readers to weigh in on the decision by the provincial governments of B.C and Ontario to implement a Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) in 2010. The results are in and most polls respondents don’t believe that the tax credits will be sufficient to offset the tax increase created by the HST and 85.4% of them don’t believe that businesses will pass through their savings to consumers. We gave politicians and by-election candidates in B.C. and Ontario the opportunity to comment on the results of our poll. Here are the responses we received by press time:

CARP members, like most of the residents in St. Paul’s I have spoken with, clearly recognize the negative impact the Harmonized Sales Tax will have on them and the cost increases they will see. Dalton McGuinty is bringing in another massive tax grab with his harmonized sales tax plan. If it goes through as McGuinty hopes , we’ll have to pay PST on a long list of goods and services that are now PST-exempt – most home sales in St. Paul’s, on condo fees, rents, gas and electricity. We’ll even have to pay 8% more for haircuts! This is simply a tax grab by the McGuinty Liberals at a time when Ontarians need to see tax cuts not increases. We must provide support for businesses, particularly our small businesses and reduce red tape. That isn’t what this tax does. This tax is an attack on Ontarians, an attack on their pocket books.

Thank you,

Sue-Ann Levy

Keywords: HST