Well, actually it doesn’t start until July 1st, 2010 but knowing about this new tax is just as important as its announcement. The HST tax, or Harmonized Sales Tax (combining the GST & PST together into one tax) is Ontario’s answer to the mess of the having these two separate taxes for so long.
Complaints have already begun about how our costs will be going up.
For some people it is true that costs will go up but for the vast majority they will stay exactly the same. And in some cases they might actually go down. Take a quick look at this link and here. They give you a list of goods that will be affected by the HST.
From a quick cursory glance it is clear that items considered luxurious are the ones that will be most affected by it.
In my opinion i think the HST is a welcome change.
Alcohol will be at a fixed 13% now. In my area it was about 17% so i welcome the change.
Actually PST was started in 1948. You are referring to the GST tax which started in Canada on January 1, 1991 by then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and finance minister at the time Michael Wilson. Get your history straight.
Always with the new taxes. Adding the PST was a piss off when it was put in back in 1991.
At least food parishables still have no extra charge. Baby formula is a big thing in our household.
For the most part, yes. Each porvince has their own laws and so their taxes might be different but in this case the HST is an Ontario thing.
Is Ontario the only one affected by this?
I still have not heard a legitimate reason for the change in the tax structure. Sure it looks cleaner but from what i see its just a front for taking more form my wallet.
So Dry Cleaning spikes from 5% to 13%…dumb..dumb..dumb. Now i am strongly considering buying a washing machine.
Say what you will but the HST is another excuse to hike taxes on all kinds of every day goods.
I wouldn’t call having the separate GST and PST a mess but it certainly put untold burden on brick and mortar establishments.