This “FIX” to the HST could have easily come from the NDP --- no wait, even Adrian Dix and the NDP wouldn't have come up with a plan this ridiculous.

Whatever was Christy Clark thinking ???  The news is out about fixing the HST ... and as I joked the other day … it is more like “The FIX is in on the HST”. 

As noted in the Victoria Times Colonist, here is Christy Clark’s plan in a nutshell:

The B.C. government is promising to cut the 12 per cent harmonized sales tax by two percentage points, provide rebates to millions of British Columbians and hike corporate tax rates in a last-ditch attempt to save the unpopular tax from defeat in a summer referendum.

Further, the Christy Clark HST “Fix” includes:

Families with children under 18, along with low-income seniors, will receive one-time payments from government worth $175 per child. The payments are designed to eliminate $350 in additional sales tax families currently pay under the HST, reducing costs by $470 and leaving an average family paying $120 less than under the old provincial sales tax, said Falcon. The government will spend $200 million to send out the cheques, which it portrayed as a “bridge” payment to the first HST rate cuts.

Okay I will admit I have not really had a lot of time to think about this; however here are a few initial thoughts from someone with no degree or higher education in mathematics other than high school:

1.       It has been generally understood by all that a 1% reduction pretty much would have got the tax to the initial revenue neutral place we were promised in the first place

2.       The one time payments of $175 are going to cost the Finance Department big time --- so how do they plan to make up for this loss of revenue that is vitally needed for hospital, schools, etc?

3.       $120 less per person in sales tax … Hmmmmm  does that now mean we will be looking a personal tax rate increase??? … increased costs for services (ie: drivers licenses, court costs, information retrievals, etc.

4.       A 2% increase on corporate tax will delight all those lefties --- BUT as usual they have no inkling of how things work, and will fail to realize that this added cost to business will simply be added to the sticker price on the things we buy.

5.       Why is it going to cost $200 million dollars to send out the cheques???  That’s over $6.00 for EVERY man woman and child in the province

This is NO fix to the tax --- this is a bribe plain and simple.

Gordon Campbell screwed us by bringing the tax and calling it revenue neutral when he, Colin Hansen, and Kevin Falcon ALL KNEW OTHERWISE.

NOW Christy Clark plans to bride us with our own money – not actually she is going to bribe us with INVISIBLE MONEY because the money for rebate cheque she plans to send out DOES NOT EXIST!

PLUS … the drop to 10% rather than the 11% recommended will further put the government in a deficit / debt position.  $60 billion was the debt we were headed for just a few months ago --- NOW what figure are we headed for?

Those who read what I say know I planned to vote to retain the HST --- at least that was my plan if the announcement today had been the tax was being reduced to 11%.  I have changed my mind.

This “FIX” to the HST could have easily come from the NDP play book --- no wait, even Adrian Dix and the NDP would not have been so insane as to come up with a plan this ridiculous.

My vote will definitely be going to kill the HST and go back to the old tax system.  Way to go Christy --- now you have really screwed things up royally.

I’m Alan Forseth in Kamloops … and those are the thoughts of one conservative.