Probably already up but.............

[CD]

The Fraser Institute - Tax Freedom Day 2009

Library of Parliament - Tax Freedom Day: A Cause for Celebration or Consternation?

[DEFCON]

Shouldn't the debate really focus on the quantity, quality and effectiveness of programs etc offered as 'services' by one level of government or another?

Why do people seem to believe a government has to represent all things to all people?

I am tax fatigued as I continue to sit by and watch my hard earned tax dollars go down a sewer year after year in support of government programs etc that are consistently shown to be ineffective, cost prohibitive and an outright waste of money from the get go.

We all want something and generally, we’d all like to be getting it for ‘nothing’. When it comes to the government and the provision of services, is it sensible to pay more taxes to support a system, which by all accounts is hopelessly inefficient and corrupt? There must be something wrong with us?

I really ‘need’, or is it ‘want’, a new 46 foot motor yacht. Unfortunately, it's not in the budget...today. Tomorrow it may be, but in the meantime I'll have to make due with what I have.

In the alternative, wouldn't the world be a better, happier place if I were able to take a little walk down the pier and with the backing of good government demand the big motor yacht owners to cough up so that I too could have a really big boat and live just like them? After all, we only live once and I don’t think it’s all that fair the other guy gets to live in this style while due to absolutely no fault of my own, I’ve been less fortunate in the lottery of life?

The reality of government today suggests a simple dire plan, take from me and give it to another regardless. Personally speaking, I do not want my tax contributions wasted by any government in support of another individuals ‘right’ to make poor lifestyle choices etc. As with the yacht example above, some expect government to provide them with a lifestyle equivalent to what was once known as the middle class while they themselves plan to contribute little more than bad air to the collective effort.

[deicer]

Using your yacht example, don't you think though that the 'yacht' should be taken away when the money used to pay for it comes from less than legal machinations that created huge bonuses to pay for that 'yacht'?

Just trying to look at it fairly

Iceman

[dagger]

Shouldn't the debate really focus on the quantity, quality and effectiveness of programs etc offered as 'services' by one level of government or another?

Why do people seem to believe a government has to represent all things to all people?

I am tax fatigued as I continue to sit by and watch my hard earned tax dollars go down a sewer year after year in support of government programs etc that are consistently shown to be ineffective, cost prohibitive and an outright waste of money from the get go.

We all want something and generally, we’d all like to be getting it for ‘nothing’. When it comes to the government and the provision of services, is it sensible to pay more taxes to support a system, which by all accounts is hopelessly inefficient and corrupt? There must be something wrong with us?

I really ‘need’, or is it ‘want’, a new 46 foot motor yacht. Unfortunately, it's not in the budget...today. Tomorrow it may be, but in the meantime I'll have to make due with what I have.

In the alternative, wouldn't the world be a better, happier place if I were able to take a little walk down the pier and with the backing of good government demand the big motor yacht owners to cough up so that I too could have a really big boat and live just like them? After all, we only live once and I don’t think it’s all that fair the other guy gets to live in this style while due to absolutely no fault of my own, I’ve been less fortunate in the lottery of life?

The reality of government today suggests a simple dire plan, take from me and give it to another regardless. Personally speaking, I do not want my tax contributions wasted by any government in support of another individuals ‘right’ to make poor lifestyle choices etc. As with the yacht example above, some expect government to provide them with a lifestyle equivalent to what was once known as the middle class while they themselves plan to contribute little more than bad air to the collective effort.

It seems as if everyone is a libertarian until it's their pet government program that's under attack.

Given that the Ontario budget is what, $80 billion, it seems that what passes for bad government spending is a tiny fraction of overall expenditures. Health care? Education? Roads? But it's the occasional boondoggle that gets disproportionate publicity.

It's kind of like Air Canada and the media. Every day, AC and AC Jazz transport 75,000-100,000 passengers and most have no complaints. A few have legitimate complaints (like misdirected baggage) that are ultimately corrected, and fewer still have beefs that are either legitimate but hard to address, or downright unreasonable. It's the latter category that run to the media, leaving people with the impression that AC's overall service reflects their experiences.

Every day, governments are spending money to get kids a good education or deliver good health care. That isn't news. Dog bites man. But if they make a mistake, and it becomes grist for the media. Man bites dog.

Sure, the work of the auditor general at rooting out inefficiency and waste is vital, but we make a huge mistake as a society demonizing the role of government, even if we don't always like the people in government or their general policy orientation.

[DEFCON]

Iceman - Yes, I agree.

Dagger - Health care and education are but a couple of my pet peeves. Do you really believe the government is delivering either ‘service’ in an efficient, cost effective and results driven manner?

[Guest woxof]

Sometimes the Liberals make me laugh so hard. They call it the job-killing Harper Sales tax and criticize it. Now they are going to help pass it. Have they ever heard of just taking a stand on the issue irrespective of the government's position on it. Or is it more of just saying anything to get in power? Their submarine ride dives deeper.

Liberals will support HST bill in Ontario and B.C.

The leader of the Liberal party outlines his party's position on the Harmonized Sales Tax while in Ottawa on Tuesday.

OTTAWA — Michael Ignatieff says federal Liberals will support legislation to implement a harmonized sales tax in Ontario and British Columbia, despite previously bashing it as a job-killing "Harper sales tax."

The Liberal leader announced his decision Tuesday after meeting his MPs, many of whom felt trapped in no-win situation and were torn over what to do.

Some MPs fear a backlash from voters in the two provinces, who are becoming increasingly angry about the prospect of paying more for a host of goods and services.

Others fear alienating the Liberal governments in Toronto and Victoria, whose campaign machines will be vital to the success of federal Liberals in the next election.

In the end, Ignatieff came down on the side of respecting the wishes of provincial governments, not to mention longstanding federal Liberal policy.

"This is a request from the provinces because they believe it'll improve the competitiveness of their economy and create jobs," Ignatieff said, noting that federal Liberals have promoted harmonization for 15 years.

"We will support this legislation in Parliament."

Just last summer, during a tour of B.C., Ignatieff criticized Prime Minister Stephen Harper for pushing provinces in the midst of a recession to adopt what he derisively referred to as the "Harper sales tax."

In September, he demanded a clarification after Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said Ignatieff had promised he'd abide by a federal agreement to ease the transition to the HST with $4.3 billion for Ontario and $1.6 billion for B.C.

After a week of confusion, Ignatieff grudgingly acknowledged that he would, in fact, honour that agreement should he become prime minister.

By Tuesday, that acknowledgment had become a point of principle which Ignatieff maintained demonstrates the difference between him and Harper, whom he slammed for tearing up federal-provincial agreements on child care and aboriginals upon taking office.

"We're practising a federalism of respect. Mr. Harper . . . practised a federalism of disrespect and division and I don't think that's any way to run a federation."

Ignatieff also slammed Harper, who'll be in China when the HST implementation legislation is introduced, for trying to distance himself from the unpopular tax and "pretend he has nothing to do with it."

"This was initiated by Mr. Harper and leadership means taking responsibility for your decisions. I've done so today. I wonder why he has not."

The Bloc Quebecois is also likely to support the legislation, leaving only the NDP to vote against it. NDP Leader Jack Layton is hoping to parlay consumer anger over the tax into votes for his party.

Ignatieff said the vote on the HST implementing legislation will be "whipped," meaning all Liberal MPs will be expected to support it.

That may yet prove difficult for some.

Victoria MP Keith Martin continued Tuesday to crusade against the HST in his province, predicting it will kill jobs, hurt people of modest means, and cramp the economy. He dismissed his leader's argument that federal politicians should respect the wishes of provincial governments.

"We simply are not there to be lackeys, to just move ahead and nod our heads and say yes,"Martin said. "Our role and responsibility is to defend the interests of the people in our province."

Toronto MP Judy Sgro acknowledged that federal Liberals are worried they'll be blamed for the HST by Ontario voters, who'll likely cast ballots federally before they vote in a provincial election.

She said history shows voters take out their anger on the first politicians to show up at the door.

"Clearly, this is a difficult issue," she said.

ALSO

Maybe it's just happenstance, or maybe it's a seminal moment: Michael Ignatieff takes a decisive step in the right direction.

The Liberal leader's decision to support the HST bill was arrived at with all the usual soap opera twists and turns. First he attacked it as the Harper Sales Tax. Then he whispered to Dalton McGuinty that he planned to support it. Then he backtracked when McGuinty blabbed the secret to everyone. Realizing he was starting to look silly, he re-backtracked and promised not to revoke the tax if it was already in place when he became prime minister. And now he says -- flat out, no fingers crossed, swear on his aunties' grave -- that he and his party will vote to support the tax.

[Guest rattler]

The point that the Liberals failed to mention in their various TV interviews, including CTV PowerPlay is that the Federal Conservatives are simply giving the Provinces a tool that they may or may not decide to use. None of the commentators challenged the Liberal Mouth Pieces when they flatly blamed the Conservatives for the HST being desired in Ontario by the Provincial Gov.. Just imagine the spin if the Conservatives refused to go along with the request from Ontario?

[DEFCON]

Psalm 2009 -- FIRST BOOK OF GOVERNMENT

McGuinty is the shepherd I did not want.

He leadeth me beside the still factories.

He restoreth my faith in the Conservative party..

He guideth me in the path of unemployment for his party's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the bread line,

I shall fear no hunger, for his bailouts are with me.

He has anointed my income with taxes ......HST being the latest

My expenses runneth over.

Surely, poverty and hard living will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will live in a mortgaged home forever.

I am glad I am Canadian

I am glad that I am free.

But I wish I was a dog ...

And McGuinty was a tree.

Amen.

[Guest rattler]

AND THE CAPTION FOR THIS PICTURE COULD BE: PLEASE LORD, BAIL ME OUT

But I am sure you have better ones.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/12/01/...st.html?ref=rss

[Guest rattler]

OTTAWA -- The House of Commons on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed legislation enabling the provinces to harmonize their sales taxes with the federal GST, clearing the way for Ontario and British Columbia to implement the HST this summer.

The federal HST bill passed by a vote of 253-37. Only the NDP opposed the legislation.

Both Ontario and B.C. plan to combine their provincial sales taxes with the federal goods and services tax on July 1.

Economists estimate that combining the tax will save businesses in Ontario billions, because firms will no longer have to pay tax on inputs such as materials and supplies. But the tax has outraged some consumers, who will see a rise in the amount of tax they pay on items such as gasoline in Ontario, and phone and cable bills in B.C.

Eighty-two per cent of British Columbians and 74 per cent of Ontarians oppose the tax, according to a recent Ipsos Reid survey commissioned by Canwest News Service and Global National.

The public backlash has put considerable pressure on MPs from Ontario and B.C., exposing cracks in the ranks of both the Conservatives and the Liberals.

This week, Conservative MP Dona Cadman, who represents the riding of Surrey North, said she would vote against the federal HST bill. Cadman did not attend the vote on Wednesday evening.

Other Tories were expected to fall in line with the government, but some are clearly not happy about it. "I don't get a vote on the HST, and you know that," said Larry Miller, the Tory MP for the Ontario riding of Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, after leaving a meeting of the Conservative caucus on Wednesday.

Chief government whip Gordon O'Connor declined to comment Wednesday when asked if Ms. Cadman would be disciplined for breaking party ranks. "That's an internal matter and I'm not going to discuss that," said Mr. O'Connor, meaning that Conservative MPs would be expected to vote with the government.

Earlier this week, Liberal MP Keith Martin, who represents the B.C. riding of Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca, said he would not show up for the vote. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff announced last week that his party would support harmonization, as the Liberals did for years while in power.

Asked why Mr. Martin was allowed to miss the vote, Mr. Ignatieff said before the vote that it was a "disciplinary matter.

"We have maintained the unity of the caucus on the HST, and I'm very proud of the way that caucus has reacted to a difficult and tough decision, which we think is the right one," the Liberal leader told reporters.

Earlier Wednesday, the Ontario legislature passed a bill that enables a 13% HST to be come into effect. The enabling legislation passed by a vote of 56-29, with both the provincial Conservatives and NDP opposed.

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=...9#ixzz0ZF7YJWT0

The National Post is now on Facebook. Join our fan community today.

[Guest woxof]

THE UNFAIR HARMONIZED TAX GRAB...........<span style='color:red'><b>ONTARIO</b></span>...........

"The HST is good for you. Yes it is. Is too

By Charles Lammam and Niels Veldhuis

On July 1, B.C. and Ontario will merge their provincial sales tax (PST) with the federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) creating a single harmonized sales tax (HST) — 12% in B.C. and 13% in Ontario. Unfortunately, the prospect of harmonization has been met with public discontent due to misinformation being spread by those who oppose the reform and want to derail it. Canadians mustn’t believe the anti-HST hype. The economic case for the HST is ironclad.

To understand why the move to an HST is beneficial, it is important to highlight the problem with the PST: It applies to business inputs in addition to many of the goods and services that consumers buy. When businesses are charged PST on production supplies and capital inputs such as machinery, production costs increase and these increased costs are largely passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. In many cases, a product can be taxed multiple times before it is taxed one last time when purchased by the final consumer.

Even goods and services that are currently exempt from the PST in both provinces contain embedded PST, since service providers pay PST on many inputs they purchase including machinery, computers, office equipment and supplies.

The HST, on the other hand, is a “value added tax” like the federal GST: Only the value added by the business selling the good or service is taxed. In other words, all business inputs are exempt from the HST. Under the HST, businesses will receive refunds for the sales tax they pay on inputs.

Past experience with harmonization in Canada shows that competitive pressures will cause businesses to largely pass these savings on to consumers through lower prices.

In 1997, Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia harmonized their PST with the federal GST. University of Toronto professor Michael Smart examined the effects and found that overall consumer prices in the harmonizing provinces actually fell after the 1997 reforms.

Harmonization will not only reduce prices, but also the costs of business investment. Since the PST applies to business inputs, including much of the machinery and technology firms purchase, it discourages business investment. By eliminating the PST on inputs, the HST will spark more business investment and development.

Here again past experience with sales tax harmonization in Canada is telling. After the three Atlantic provinces harmonized their PST with the federal GST in 1997, professor Smart found that investment in machinery and equipment rose by more than 12% in these provinces compared to the non-harmonized provinces.

With more investment and business development, British Columbians and Ontarians stand to gain higher wages and more job opportunities. For instance, University of Calgary professor Jack Mintz estimates that harmonization will account for a net increase of 113,000 and 591,000 jobs in B.C. and Ontario, respectively, over 10 years.

Finally, Canada’s competitiveness will be improved with B.C. and Ontario’s move to an HST, since businesses that export goods will see their prices become more competitive relative to businesses operating in other provinces and countries without sales taxes on inputs. Improving Ontario’s competitiveness is especially important given the blow to the manufacturing sector from the recent recession.

To recoup the lost revenue from refunding the tax paid on business inputs, the HST will apply to a wider array of goods and services than the PST. Broadening the tax base this way ensures that more goods and services will be treated fairly, meaning the HST will produce a more uniform tax burden on all forms of consumption of goods and services.

Opponents of harmonization claim that the elimination of sales taxes on business inputs and the expansion of the sales tax base would result in a shift of the tax burden from business to individuals. However, such a view ignores that the ultimate burden of all taxes falls on people in the form of higher prices, lower wages, or reduced rates of return.

Moreover, both B.C. and Ontario are implementing several initiatives concurrently with the HST to offset the total additional amount of sales tax paid. This makes harmonization revenue neutral for government.

British Columbians and Ontarians would do well to ignore the anti-HST rhetoric. The HST is a significantly more efficient sales tax system that will improve the investment climates in both provinces and ultimately benefit Canadians through more opportunities, higher rates of economic growth and increased prosperity. The three remaining non-harmonized provinces, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island, should follow suit."

http://fullcomment.n...s-it-is-is-too/

Woxof....sometimes you need to look at the big picture.

[boestar]

"The HST is good for you. Yes it is. Is too

I DONT THINK SO

By Charles Lammam and Niels Veldhuis

On July 1, B.C. and Ontario will merge their provincial sales tax (PST) with the federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) creating a single harmonized sales tax (HST) — 12% in B.C. and 13% in Ontario. Unfortunately, the prospect of harmonization has been met with public discontent due to misinformation being spread by those who oppose the reform and want to derail it. Canadians mustn't believe the anti-HST hype. The economic case for the HST is ironclad.

Yeah OK. Ironclad. when told to gullable sheeple

To understand why the move to an HST is beneficial, it is important to highlight the problem with the PST: It applies to business inputs in addition to many of the goods and services that consumers buy. When businesses are charged PST on production supplies and capital inputs such as machinery, production costs increase and these increased costs are largely passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. In many cases, a product can be taxed multiple times before it is taxed one last time when purchased by the final consumer.

Even goods and services that are currently exempt from the PST in both provinces contain embedded PST, since service providers pay PST on many inputs they purchase including machinery, computers, office equipment and supplies.

hmmmm Tax on Tax.... Is that not a violation of Tax Law in Canada

The HST, on the other hand, is a "value added tax" like the federal GST: Only the value added by the business selling the good or service is taxed. In other words, all business inputs are exempt from the HST. Under the HST, businesses will receive refunds for the sales tax they pay on inputs.

so am I to understand that ALL manufacturers are going to lower the wholesale price of ALL products as of July 1 2010 so as not to "Double Tax" the sheeple????

Past experience with harmonization in Canada shows that competitive pressures will cause businesses to largely pass these savings on to consumers through lower prices.

[Guest]

Adding more tax to an already over tax people is never any good. Regardless of the Liberals spin on how it is good for business is just CRAP, pure and simple. McGuinty's spin that business will lower prices due to the HST is the same sort of spin Muldoon's goons spun when the GST was introduced. I assume most of you remember how prices were to go down as the 15% hidden tax was removed, YA RIGHT!!!

This nonsense that it is good for business so lets pass on the expense to the tax payer is a paradox. All it does is now have me tighten my belt even more and not spend on those products that I wanted, after all I am now going to be out of pocket over a grand as a result of the HST.

So with less money in pocket now as a result of the HST, how is that good for business when the people who buy the products can no longer afford to buy those products

Sorry, but Dalton the reptilian kitten eater from outer space McGuinty's HST has just put this province in reverse.

[dagger]

So with less money in pocket now as a result of the HST, how is that good for business when the people who buy the products can no longer afford to buy those products

If they buy products, they are already paying PST. It's primarily services that are impacted. And companies that have been paying PST on all the inputs that go into making their product now will pay that much less, and if their business environment is at all competitive, some or all of that will flow through to you in the form of lower pre-tax prices.

[Guest]

If they buy products, they are already paying PST. It's primarily services that are impacted. And companies that have been paying PST on all the inputs that go into making their product now will pay that much less, and if their business environment is at all competitive, some or all of that will flow through to you in the form of lower pre-tax prices.

Yes Dagger, if I buy products they are subject to GST and PST, but as of July 10, everything else is now taxed, the average family will be out of pocket aprox $1500 per annum.Taxed on my hydro, telephone heating bills, gasoline will be up 8 cents per litre overnight. So how will people now short this amount of money be willing to go out and buy products. And as I previously said, remember the GST and how prices were to drop, did not happen and I predict the same will result here with the HST.

[Guest woxof]

"In B.C.'s HST debate, passion trumps good sense

Today we come not to bury Gordon Campbell, but to praise him. Somebody has to.

Mr. Campbell has been British Columbia's Premier for the past nine years. That in itself is an achievement, given the track record of those who've held the office. There was Glen Clark (resigned amid a criminal investigation, 1999), and before him Mike Harcourt (resigned amid a criminal investigation that involved his party, 1996), and before him Bill Vander Zalm (resigned because of a conflict-of-interest probe that led to criminal charges, 1991).Yet Mr. Campbell is now treated as the biggest scoundrel of them all.

His Liberal Party's standing is as far underwater as BP's leaky Macondo well and his personal popularity is roughly equal to that of Tony Hayward at a Louisiana shrimpers' convention. Last week, one of his cabinet ministers resigned in protest and Mr. Vander Zalm, of all people, is now throwing mud in the Premier's direction, calling him an "elected dictator."

And for what? Because Mr. Campbell dared to do the right thing. His government's decision to scrap B.C.'s antiquated provincial sales tax in favour of one that's harmonized with the federal sales tax may have turned the Premier into the pariah-of-the-moment. It's also one of the best things he has done. The HST's critics, an alliance of knee-jerk populists, political opportunists and the financially clueless, ought to go jump in the Georgia Strait. Better yet, they should take a basic economics course.

Rarely has a good idea been so misunderstood. Rarely have the correct intentions - to make B.C. a more competitive place, to make it cheaper to invest, to make jobs - been so twisted into something else.

The HST's critics don't know what they're talking about. But it does require some explanation, so we'll walk through it very slowly, for the benefit of Mr. Vander Zalm and his comrades-in-arms.

Right now in B.C. the consumer is charged two taxes on most items: there's a 5 per cent federal goods and services tax plus a provincial sales tax of 7 per cent. On July 1, that will change to a single, harmonized tax of 12 per cent. The rub, of course, is all sorts of items that are now exempt from the provincial tax will have the HST applied to them. The tax on a massage, for instance, will rise to 12 per cent from 5; same with a funeral or a haircut or a lawyer's fee. (A similar process will take place in Ontario - except at a 13-per-cent rate - to replace the current five-plus-eight.)

This is why the HST gets a rap as just another effort by politicians to reach into the consumer's pocket. In fact, it's the current provincial sales tax, both in B.C. and Ontario, that qualifies as a grubby tax grab. Those taxes apply not just at the retail cash register, but to things that companies buy to run their businesses, including, in most cases, crucial equipment and supplies. The government taxes at every step. Ultimately, the consumer pays for it anyway. It's just that all that tax is buried in the price of what you're buying.

But the old PST does something else that's even more harmful. It drives up the real cost of making an investment. The two-tax system is one of the major reasons why the effective tax rate on capital is much higher in B.C. and Ontario than it is in places like New Brunswick and Nova Scotia that have a single, harmonized tax. The result is less investment, which in the long run means fewer jobs. By bringing in the HST, Mr. Campbell and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty are chopping the cost of building a plant or a warehouse or a retail store in their provinces. Only good things can come from that. You will have a hard time finding a credible economist who disagrees with this point (TD's Don Drummond, former Bank of Canada governor David Dodge and the University of Calgary's Jack Mintz, one of the country's leading experts on taxation, are three of the many economists who back the HST).

The trouble for Mr. Campbell is it is nearly impossible to prove the absence of something: how do you show that there are fewer businesses operating in B.C. - paying wages and employing people - because of the absurdities of the provincial sales tax? It's too abstract. The government commissioned Mr. Mintz to do a study on the subject; he calculated the HST policy will be such a boon for investment that it will result in 113,000 new jobs in the province by 2020.

The anti-HST campaigners just toss this stuff aside, or ignore it. But if they really believe the HST will be so awful, perhaps they could at least brush up on their history. In the late 1980s, when the Mulroney government brought in the GST, its critics claimed it would do long-term damage to the economy. It probably did make the early 1990s recession a little bit worse. But within a few years, Canada was beginning a 17-year economic expansion and a historic boom in employment. Paul Martin was balancing the budget with the help of GST revenue, income taxes were cut and Ottawa began repaying debt.

How did that happen? Don't expect the anti-HST camp to try to explain it. They're too busy mouthing vague platitudes about democracy, as though Mr. Campbell seized power in a military coup, and whining about paying a couple of extra bucks at the barber shop."

http://v1.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20100619.DECLOETCOLUMN19ATL/TPStory/TPBusiness/

[boestar]

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. When the GST came into being, the Manufacturers sales tax was eliminated. We could not see that tax as it was embedded in the price of the goods being purchased. In theory the price of said good should have dropped something like 15% when the GST came in to being. THAT DID NOT HAPPEN. The prices remained steady and then the GST was added to it along with the PST. So the GST was to be a good thing for us Canadians. (Sheeple). We got screwed, plain and simple. An look we are getting it from the rear again and without even the courtesy of a reach around.

DOLTon would have us believe this is a good thing and as a feel good gesture is GIVING us some compensation (well its my money any way so why not just let me keep it) inthe first year to "soften the blow". Lets look at that..."soften the blow" What Blow? Cost and revenue neutral, wasnt that the pitch? Now there is a blow. Yeah BLOW ME. This will cost Ontarians and BCans well over a grand a year. So again corporations and businesses win and we the sheeple lose. How is that good? So it costs company A less to manufacture a product but the MSRP remains constant and I pay the HST on that. The COMPANY did well as profits are up. and I get hosed yet again.

The ever increasing Tax burden on our citizens, as a result of bad fiscal responsibility that the Government is rarely if ever held accountable for, is becomming too much for average joe and jane to handle. This COUNTRY (notice I said country and not government. because they are equally bad at this) needs to start cleaning up its act and spend where its needed and cut the waste. If I go into Debt can I tax the country to pay it off? Yeah didnt think so.

/rant (for now)

[CanadaEH]

Yes Dagger, if I buy products they are subject to GST and PST, but as of July 10, everything else is now taxed, the average family will be out of pocket aprox $1500 per annum.Taxed on my hydro, telephone heating bills, gasoline will be up 8 cents per litre overnight. So how will people now short this amount of money be willing to go out and buy products. And as I previously said, remember the GST and how prices were to drop, did not happen and I predict the same will result here with the HST.

I wonder how people feel now that they've had a few months to pay more for everything? I was on the fence about it but now I think it just stinks - I'm spending more money every month and not seeing any benefit.

[conehead]

Oh, but look at all the jobs it created!

[deicer]

I'd say that the conclusion is some pretty solid logic

Keep the Canadian economy going!

[Guest]

I'd say that the conclusion is some pretty solid logic

Keep the Canadian economy going!

As i predicted, prices have not dropped and job losses mount, way to go to all the Daltonites, all they have done is screw the economic engine of this country!

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/10/01/con-hst-consequence.html?ref=rss

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/26291