PST on bikes?

for some, bikes are not just toys. just as or even more so important than a car.

there is PST on cars

HONOURABLE IDA CHONG
MINISTER OF HEALTHY LIVING AND SPORT
PO BOX 9067 STN PROV GOVT
VICTORIA BC V8W 9E2

Telephone: 250 387-3504
Fax: 250 387-3420

HONOURABLE SHIRLEY BOND
MINISTER OF TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
PO BOX 9055 STN PROV GOVT
VICTORIA BC V8W 9E2

Telephone: 250 387-1978
Fax: 250 356-2290
[email protected]

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E-mail address:250 387-6121
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Wouldn't the easiest solution to everyone (but the Govt) be to just keep all the existing exemptions in place when the harmonization comes online?? Perhaps too easy/simple a solution and I guess this plan would lack the added revenue to the Govt that will likely be "needed" to pay for all the changes this harmonization will cause (new pamphlets, systems, etc).

The problem with harmonized taxes is that you can't selectively discount the tax rate. Discounts and expemtions are typically administered in the form of a credit that the individual would have to claim. Can you imagine everybody submitting requests for 7% back on their restaurant bills (restaurant bills will now be taxable at 12% instead of just GST), it would create havoc on the system.

The problem with harmonized taxes is that you can't selectively discount the tax rate. Discounts and expemtions are typically administered in the form of a credit that the individual would have to claim. Can you imagine everybody submitting requests for 7% back on their restaurant bills (restaurant bills will now be taxable at 12% instead of just GST), it would create havoc on the system.

Agreed … it would create havoc in this NEW system. The old system of having them separate seemed to work just fine, didn't it???? Which begs the question … what exactly is the benefit to the citizens of having the taxes harmonized?

Bike shops do not pay PST on their products, just GST right now, so there will be no savings for them.

You should know better Tony, some items through the till are GST, some GST[HTML_REMOVED]PST. Every shop fs this up at some level, and leaves themselves open to blowback from the gov. Go talk to Sylvia C about that(!!) if you have the time.

It's shitty bike industry hurting move, but it's going to happen, and in 10 years no one will care or remember. Shoot in the UK, sales tax is 15%! (down from 17.5 last year!!) on all but helmets.

I wonder how many people will hold off on big purchases until a trip to Alberta where they have no PST, only GST. If I were going to drop 5K on a bike I'd wait till a trip home to visit the folks.

I'm wondering, all those kid/school exempt items like pencils, ink jet cartridges for school use, and clothing… will these still be tax exempt?

At the very least safety gear should be tax free as it ultimately saves money in medical related costs, or at the very least exempt the kids for their safety equipment… then again I'm still trying to wrap my head around taxing books. :nono:

Great commentary James! This is going to affect the economy in so many ways. Take design which is what I do. Design fees have never had PST on them, so all my clients are now going to have to ante up an additional 7% for the exact same level of service! Nice one Gordo…

Campbell = Criminal. Did you hear the one where he kept a group of buddies employed on an unused stretch of railway in Surrey somewhere? There's a video on it. Oh, and of course, he then illegally privatized BC Rail and had the emails erased. Anyway, Gordon Campbell is criminally guilty of being a big, fat liar and I feel sorry for anyone tricked into voting for him. GORDON WANTS HIS MONEY, and we're going to give it to him!

PS The "Revolt" is being lead by… drum roll…. BILL VANDERZALM!!! Hehehe.

Here is a link to the "Stop the HST" petition, if you are against it, sign on.

I know it is on the NDP web-site, so no political comments need be made, this is about the HST for me, not any other sort of politics.

http://www.bcndp.ca/stophst

Signed, thanks for the link Tonestar. :)

You should know better Tony, some items through the till are GST, some GST[HTML_REMOVED]PST.

You mis-read what I said, I meant, bike shops don't pay PST on the products they purchase from suppliers. They do have to charge PST on specific items, then they pay it forward to the Gov't.

I am sure this gets F'd up all the time by shops, all the staff running things through the till, but not knowing which taxes to charge.

/signed…

again thx for teh linkage…

The HST now has a nick name, the Hated Sales Tax .
Not only will this tax have a negative effect on our industry it will have a profound effect on Restaurants and other service industries. The challenge to us all is that while this tax will effect these industries it is really all of us that will see an increase in the cost of living.
I don't buy the line that this is good for business and certainly not ours. An increase in the cost to operate will simply increase the cost of goods and that means that the price of your bikes are going up.
"What can we do, it's going to happen anyway?" Is the sort of approach that is dangerous and frankly what the politicians are counting on. I don't think that the founders of the NSMBA felt this way when they formed many years ago. We all benefit from their efforts everyday we ride.
In my letters to the various Ministers and Premier ( thanks Sk8r for the link ) I pointed out that while the process is likely unstoppable, this should not stop the current government from doing the right thing. The world needs to support health, fitness and green initiatives not challenge them with more taxation.
Thinking about this I thought of this solution:
It is possible to insist on personal tax exceptions for the purchase or servicing of ' fitness equipment'. We could be compensated for helping our world by a net reduction in our annual provincial taxes.
It could work like this :
Say you spend $5000 a year to service or buy your bike. Under the pending rules you will now have to pay an additional $350 in HST. But you will save your receipts.
At tax time you take your $5000 fitness and health expense receipts and knock $5000 off of your gross income. Now you will be taxed at a lower rate.
Under this system there would be no real increase in costs to our government to administer. Our exemption would still exist. And as far as the Provincial claim to want to attract people to BC - this would be the case. Why the spin masters could have a field day with this one. " Come to Beautiful BC where we pay you to ride your bike !!"
Don't get me wrong, the HST and the way it came to be is a sham. I think it should be scrapped. We need to vocalize our needs. We need to express displeasure in the increase in the cost to ride a bicycle. However, we need to create solutions. If the province is broke ( or soon to be ) and the 1.6 billion that the Feds are promising is our saviour, so be it. This does not mean that Bikes need to be taxed. Other industries are getting exceptions. We have a mechanism in place in Personal Taxation that could be engaged. And most importantly we need to express to the current Government that this stinks and needs to change.
Go to the link and let them know what you want - after all this is a democracy, right?
www.gov.bc.ca/ministeries