Re: The yes man, News, July 6, 2011.
I do not agree with the HST for the following reasons.
I think it was thought up by Ottawa and Ontario as a way to help companies who export to the U.S.A. stay price-competitive as the American dollar falls and the Canadian dollar strengthens. Exporters had a 12 to 15 per cent advantage when exporting to the U.S.
Because of their inefficiency, exporters need this spread to be competitive. The HST helps them keep that advantage.
I guess that helps employment in companies that export, but is that fair to the rest of Canadians? I think not. I think it breeds inefficiency and greed.
The one thing I have not heard is why do businesses need a 12 per cent tax break? That is what they are getting.
I was in business most of my life and I learned that to survive you have to become efficient — you and your employees. One of the sales pitches for the HST is the business or supplier will help replace the increased tax by lower prices. That’s a joke — no one lowers their prices.
I think it is kind of a sneaky tax, most people I think, thought just combining PST and GST no big deal, that’s not the case, is it?
What has happened is that all of a sudden we have PST on labour costs for the goods we buy. That in itself is a considerable increase in the cost of the good or service.
Jack Churchward
Esquimalt