Kevin Falcon, Christy Clark, and BC Liberals at odds with reality on HST

Taxpayers really the ones to cover
the cost of HST rebate cheques

Those who are paying the HST, should be asking who does it really impact?  In my reading, there seems to be some confusion between business, the BC government, and the Minister of Finance. 

On page #23 of a report prepared for the Business Council of BC, (CONSUMER IMPACTS OF BC’S HARMONIZED SALES TAX) it states, “In short, while BC’s HST does entail burdens for households except at lower incomes, this study has found those burdens to be far smaller than commonly believed.”

Of interest to taxpayers in BC however is a media release dated April 5^th, from the Ministry of Finance (011FIN0029-000341), which has the following direct quote from Finance Minister Kevin Falcon:

“One of the major information gaps we've identified is that most families receiving the B.C. HST Credit have no idea it’s there to offset the impact of the HST.”

The Business Council of BC has clearly identified the HST has NO impact to lower income families, and yet the BC government is sending out another HST rebate cheque which it appears is in excess of any additional tax costs to them.

IF, the plan of government is to provide lower income families with more money, then why don’t they just come out and say so … rather than going about it this way? 

British Columbians that have actually seen a very real effect from having the cost of the HST, being applied to items never previously covered, should be asking this question of Kevin Falcon:

“Why are you stating that lower income families are receiving the cheque to ‘offset the impact of the HST’, given the report prepared for the Business Council of BC.” 

When a tax has been added to an additional 20% of the goods and services that families have to purchase; having the government state there has been little or no impact, is to put it politely, 100% at odds with reality. 

Given the fact that Kevin Falcon, Christy Clark, and the rest of the BC Liberal government is fully aware of that, could one then go so far as to say they are deliberately lying to us?

I’m Alan Forseth in Kamloops, and those are the thoughts, and questions, of at least one conservative.