HST results out today - update: HST DEFEATED!

BC this is why you can't have nice things

do any of you really beleive that we will get taxed less under either system ???

come on, regardless of HST or PST/GST there will no reduction of taxs for the ave. Joe over the years..

all things equal YES there would be a reduction. Problem is people equate HST in on monday, savings on Tuesday and thats simply not how it works.

All else held equal a province under PST vs that under HST, those under HST will see savings.

Democracy failed big time on this one.

What a stupid comment.

I am pro-HST and am pissed about this but democracy did not fail in any regard. The fact that we had a referendum is phenomenal.

The outcome is not what I (we) would have preferred but at least there was an opportunity to voice one's opinion on it.

What failed was the pro-hst camp not really being a camp at all and failing miserably on the campaign. I'm personally kind of surprised it was as close as it was considering the vast majority of scrap the HST signs I saw in comparison to keep it signs.

The cost of reimplementing the PST alone will be staggering. What a banana republic we live in.

People are bitter because of the WAY the HST was brought in. So much so that they kill it despite it making more sense than the dual tax structure. Next time you want to take it out on the government just start assassinating instead of throwing an additional wrench into our economy.

Fuck you BC.

I'm just curious, has any body seen the retail prices of anything drop since the HST was brought in? That was one of the big selling points wasn't it?

BAHAHA! Would you really pass your "savings" to the consumer?? Or pocket that as profit?

I sure havent seen any price drops, only increases.

and for those chatting it up about the 1.6 billion we gotta pay back - what about the monies that have been paid to them already (the taxes they would not of recieved otherwise) and for the next 18 months??? Wonder what that difference will be in the end…

I think this is pretty simple… Life in Vancouver/BC is ridiculously expensive. A consumption tax is not what BC wants. I think the mood (as I perceive through my social/work circles) is that for the first time in decades people are actually starting to feel a pinch of how expensive life here has become. Couple this with the unrelenting onslaught of new taxes from the HST, to parking, to carbon tax, to other gas taxes and your average BC'er is saying "enough is enough."

The fact that life just across the border is 50% cheaper and wages are higher doesn't help the social mood…

BAHAHA! Would you really pass your "savings" to the consumer?? Or pocket that as profit?

Well, in a competitive marketplace where others are trying to take a way your business, savings would be passed along or others will do it for you.

I sure havent seen any price drops, only increases.

So what you're saying is that, the only market force affecting product prices is the tax structure? Really?

and for those chatting it up about the 1.6 billion we gotta pay back - what about the monies that have been paid to them already (the taxes they would not of recieved otherwise) and for the next 18 months??? Wonder what that difference will be in the end…

You really don't understand how this works, eh?

Kn.

The fact that life just across the border is 50% cheaper and wages are higher doesn't help the social mood…

Hahaha … wages are certainly NOT higher in the US, except for the highest earners.

Kn.

Scrapping HST is like throwing a knife in the garbage because it doesn't cut. The knife just needs to be sharpened.

Or its the wrong knife for the application.

HST = not perfect, but a better and more efficient concept than PST/GST. Would have been far better to tweak HST to improve fairness than to ditch it. The trouble with a referendum is that almost everyone votes with short-sighted self-interest.

Kn.

I see the trouble with most voting options being so binary. We are given 2 options from the system and its the voters fault for having short sigted self interests? Thats a questionable statement.

Democracy won, smart public policy lost.

BAHAHA! Would you really pass your "savings" to the consumer?? Or pocket that as profit?

is this even a serious argument? how do you think items on the shelf get priced to begin with? if you thought about it for like 10 seconds you realise that is wrong.

from the bottom here…

who makes more money?

jim sells candy at 1 dollar each. he sells 1
joe sells candy at 95 cent each, so he sells 10.

cost to purchase a candy is 50 cents.

joe makes more money. thats why prices will drop under the HST. with business costs being lower,there will be pressure to drop prices to make more money in the end.

then 50+ percent of us say, "oh noes, extra 5% on my timmies? fuck the HST!"

Supply side economics is a failure. It's too bad some people think that it works.

Now, if the Liberals are the financial masters that they think they are, they should get to work and clean up this mess they created and stop feeding us crap.

and one other thing i need to ad. no matter what or how, the gov't needs money to function. wether they take it all from business, joe public at the cash register or on the paycheque, the gov't is going to take it.

might as well have an efficient system while we're at it.

Problem is people equate HST in on monday, savings on Tuesday and thats simply not how it works.

Wasn't monday about 2 years ago?