Chambers of Commerce from across the country gathered in Victoria last weekend for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce Annual General Meeting. Topping their policy agenda: Harmonized Sales Tax.

Discussions with delegates representing 258 chambers of commerce and boards of trade resulted in a nation-wide call from Canada’s business community for the federal government to encourage all provinces to harmonize their sales tax with the GST.

“The HST has our support and the support of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, not to mention hundreds of chambers across the country. This is the Voice of Business speaking,” said John Winter, President and CEO of the BC Chamber of Commerce.

“We’re saying it’s time to bring the system in line with the 129 other leading world economies employing a value-added tax if we want Canada and its provinces to continue to be competitive.”

Currently, 29 of the 30 OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries and 129 of the 130 leading economies in the world use a value-added tax system similar to HST.

Among the recommendations the Canadian Chamber is making to the federal government regarding HST, most notable is the appeal to increase the GST/HST threshold to $75,000 from the current $30,000 – making the collection of HST (or GST) optional for businesses grossing less than $75,000 per year.

“No one is saying that this tax can be implemented without mitigation strategies,” continued Winter.

“Mitigation has been a major concern throughout our advocacy efforts on this front, and will continue to be the focus of much of our work with this issue.”

Delegates at the Canadian Chamber AGM also discussed strategies to promote immigration to smaller communities in Canada. The Chamber is now urging the federal government to use its immigration, settlement and integration policies to help small urban centres to develop economically; as well as reducing the minimum investment required from business class immigration applicants under the Provincial Nominee Program, making it easier for immigrants to access the program.