Business loves HST
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Updated: August 25, 2009 10:43 AM
The big guns of the B.C. business community came out Monday to back the government as it heads into a storm of protest over the imposition of the harmonized sales tax, soaring deficits and cuts to programs.
Organizers of a Vancouver news conference to tout the benefits of the new tax said they were not asked by the B.C. Liberal government to come to its aid. Their project started as a lobby group to persuade Premier Gordon Campbell to follow Ontario’s lead on the HST, and once that was announced they followed through, said Max Logan of the Retail Council of Canada.
The Council of Forest Industries, the Motion Picture Association of B.C., Initiatives Prince George, the Chartered Accountants and the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters joined the B.C. Chamber of Commerce and Business Council of B.C. in endorsing the new sales tax.
“We weren’t pushing any particular agenda going into the election,” said Jock Finlayson of the Business Council. “We had no indication the province was looking at this, but we are happy that British Columbia has decided to grasp the nettle and move the tax system in a direction that’s going to be beneficial for our long-term economic performance.”
It will help improve B.C.’s productivity, which has been “dismal for 20 years,” he added. Business leaders agreed that investment, competitiveness and consumer prices should all improve in time.
Condominium owners, meanwhile, were readying their protest signs for the resumption of the B.C. legislature on Tuesday. A government loan program to repair water-damaged condos was one of the casualties of the recession, and more cuts are coming as the government ratchets up the deficit estimates.
NDP leader Carole James said she had a clear expectation for the legislative session.
“This session will be an opportunity for Gordon Campbell to explain to the public why he lied to them,” she said.
James said public anger is still growing, not just about the tax but the dishonest way it was introduced. People see this surprise on top of the deficit, which during the election
campaign Campbell pledged would not be more than $495 million, she said.
“Then the finance minister comes out in June and says, oh, it’s going to be a little worse than we expected, but we still think we can hold to $495 million,” James said. “Well, July rolls around and they’re starting to talk a billion. August comes and they’re talking three billion. So who knows? We’ve still got another week until the budget comes out.”
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