*POOF* There goes the HST.

[Masozi]

  To put it as simply as possible the referendum has determined that the majority of voters who participated have decided to kill the Harmonized Sales Tax here in BC. 

* Pro HST supporters -  They are predictably disappointed and say that the removal decision is based more on strong emotional and political feelings towards the government than an understanding of which tax system would work best.  That those who voted to remove the HST are putting the province back into an inefficient dual tax instead of a streamlined system. Pro HST financial experts on local radio talk shows have said that the general public hasn't the training, knowledge or expertise in economics to understand the finer nuances between the tax regimes. HST supporters are saying that the money having to be repaid to the Feds will put a big hole in the provincial budget for the coming year/s. The biggest losers in the "axe the tax" result will probably be the mining, forestry and the acting/movie industries. Supporters are saying that if citizens want government services then the money still has to come from somewhere. That the removal of the HST will make it harder for government to collect the revenue they need to spend on programs and projects, (like the Evergreen Line.) 

* Anti HST opponents - They predictably happy and say that the public has spoken, that this is a good day for democracy in BC. That people will be able to save money and that the costs of things that had the HST added to them will  come down.  One the the things that HST opponents like to point out is that this is a clear message to politicians not to lie about doing something before and after an election. The more militant anti HST ranks are saying that this is a clear sign that the government is now vulnerable and needs to be defeated at the earliest opportunity.  The biggest winners appear to be the food and service industry who will see the HST removed from meals, movies, bicycles, gym memberships and other things that were not taxed under the PST system.  Many opponents are agreeing that going back may not be the best thing to do but the way the HST was introduced was unfair and wrong. They are also saying that this is an opportunity to revamp and improve the old PST system so that it can be brought into the 21st century.

My own personal feeling on the result is that there will be short term joy and gain followed by long term pain.  Based on the history of this government's behavior I think they will probably raise fees, hidden taxes and rates all over the place to plug the hole in the budget. It won't surprise me if we see more cuts to social programs and support services while gas taxes go up.  I think it likely we will see an increased user pay policy being proposed on everything from roads to medical services.  That all of us are going to get the financial snot kicked out of us in the coming year or two by the bullies in Victoria.  The government would be foolish to call an election anytime soon as their best strategy would be to delay and divert (as in divert attention away from their screw ups and try to rebuild trust with voters, (probably impossible at this time!)

Its going to be interesting to see how the removal of the HST affects everyone.   Will your jobs get more difficult?  Will your services and products be cheaper?  Will the industry you are in migrate to another province because of cheaper cost to producers?   Several people on disability benefits in the building where I live are not happy because removing the HST means they'll lose about 60% of their quarterly tax rebate after the PST returns. . . its going to be interesting !

[zenia]

I won't really see much of a change. Well, except for the HST credit cheque I was getting quarterly. With the HST it was about $50 higher than before, which was nice. I almost never buy anything, so the 12% didn't really bug me all that much. The shop I work at is service based (a tailor shop) so our prices will go down a little... but it might give my boss incentive to raise her 'before tax' price, since she wanted to before, but then tax rose and she couldn't.

[mediar]

nana na na, nana na na, hey hey ooo, good bye!

Here is the dumb thing... had Campbell introduced the HST properly (with having it debated it and etc) I'd be open to the idea of it. I think most of the people voted against it because of the way it was brought out... in a lie.

[Kithop]

nana na na, nana na na, hey hey ooo, good bye!

Here is the dumb thing... had Campbell introduced the HST properly (with having it debated it and etc) I'd be open to the idea of it. I think most of the people voted against it because of the way it was brought out... in a lie.

This.  Regardless of what tax system we end up with, the point is that this time around, we actually had a say in the matter, unlike with Campbell.

[Jimfoxyboy]

Things are going to get a little rough either way, if we had kept the HST or gotten rid of it. It should have never been put into effect to begin with. The government said it wasn't going to implement the HST, it should have stuck with it. Now it just shot itself in the foot effectively.

I'd be curious as to how they would want to 'modernize' the PST/GST system if they ever do.

[Haemish]

I voted pro-HST.  I'm from NB, we did the HST thing YEARS ago; it was a non-event since the government wasn't a douche about it.

Ugh, this whole things is a mess.  Like my friend posted, "Ok, well I guess we go back to bizarro half-hidden BS tax land. Thanks, idiots."

[zenia]

"Ok, well I guess we go back to bizarro half-hidden BS tax land. Thanks, idiots."

lmao

I was ok with the HST. I wasn't at first, but since it wasn't a big change for me, I didn't really care. I would have liked to see it just go down to 10% though.

[Tony Greyfox]

I predict that the Liberals will either find some kind of loophole sometime soon or, in six months when things have died down will call an election and campaign on the positive benefits of a properly-implemented blended tax system. Going to be interesting, anyhow.

[Temrin]

Apparently "its going to take some time and a lot of taxpayer money to reverse"
*flails* wheeee. XD this is such a mess. -shakes head-

[Maoi Neko]

I hope everything is taken care of and running smoothly when ever I get around to moving back.

[Sevrin]

see, this is why violence is never the answer, they used brute force to implement the hst and now things have gotten ugly, the hst was much better for pretty much everyone and certainly did not kill restaurants like people said it would, but they went about it in just about the worst way imaginable, and now hundreds of thousands of dollars are being wasted.
from what I've heard, many of the things that were pst exempt wont be anymore, so we aren't even gonna save money on those things.

[JFoxx]

Yea I am set up on disability, but honestly I never paid attention to much politics recently, so the HST being gone is all new to me and I was reading a bit of the main topic (not all of it i am a lazy reader sometimes, forgive me; its not you, its me lol) but yeayea.
I didnt realize how important HST really was when you put it that way like I admit I was not impressed with the HST because of the depression and all but removing it now seems like it could iunno make things worse.

[Acco]

Honestly, the biggest problem with getting rid of the HST is the 1.6 billion dollars we owe to the feds now.

I voted for keeping the HST purely based on what owing 1.6 billion dollars to the federal government would do to BC. I understand that a good deal of you probably voted to get rid of it... for various reason (probably the biggest one being that it was snuck in under our noses)... but hey, congrats guys. Enjoy your probable tax increases and cutbacks in many social programs - health, education, civic... because that's how that 1.6 billion dollar deficit will be paid off.

[Sevrin]

(probably the biggest one being that it was snuck in under our noses)

it wasn't snuck in, everyone knew it was coming and tried their darndest to prevent it (something like an 80% opposition rate if I recall) it was forced upon us.

[Runix]

it wasn't snuck in, everyone knew it was coming and tried their darndest to prevent it (something like an 80% opposition rate if I recall) it was forced upon us.

In the end people voted it out, and now because of thier decision we owe 1.6 billion dollars to federal like acco said, the economy is about to get hit hard soon, and now this will help make it a longer recession for BC Residents