Today I had the privilege of paying my property taxes. (I call it a privilege because, I have a house to live in, roads to drive on and first class snow removal services… if I did not have property taxes to pay, it would mean that I lived in a Van down by the river.. so for that reason I am glad to pay them.) While I was at the town office waiting for my debit card to be rung through, I glanced over at a stack of papers that were sitting on the counter.Written on the top in pen and then highlighted in pink, read the words, “HST, please leave here.” As I was looking for the place to write my signature, I laughed when I finally clued in! The clerk saw me looking at the papers and said that it was a print out of all of the regulations regarding the new Harmonized Sales Tax (HST.) Apparently, many people have been looking at the paperwork and asking if they could take a copy home to read up on it. {It was not a petition like I had thought.} He said that was the ‘office’ copy and that it needed to be left there for others to read. I pointed out the humor in the hand written wording; he chuckled because it had previously gone unnoticed. “HST, please leave here.”
Apparently 700,000 others feel the same way as the subliminal message on the town offices regulation sheet… there was recently a petition sent to Ottawa to try and get the HST overturned. Even though another member of my house looks at the tax as a simplified paper trail, I see it as a great way to give away even more interest to the federal government and also create a plethora of jobs on the other side of the country. I don’t like being pessimistic but, will this be as pricey in the long run as the ever so unpopular ‘gun registry?’ [See http://www.thestar.com/article/274955 for more on that... ]
Alberta has it right when they say.. “Less Ottawa more Alberta!” Doesn’t BC mean Bring Cash…
not Give it away? Just saying, perhaps we need to start standing up for the people that live here, by creating abundance rather than giving people another reason to leave. Let’s stop getting in our own way, instead of making decisions that will benefit others at the expense of the people who live here.***Just a thought, what if we simplified PST… by making it a smaller flat tax, no exemptions… that way it could be like 1 or 2% … small, simple and when you do that math, the numbers will blow your mind and balk up the coffers…. Provincially. More bang for OUR buck and WE don’t need a MBA .. or MAcc – [Master of Accountancy] to figure things out.
How do YOU feel about HST? (Thought I would ask since the government never… )
Humbly,
Marcia
P.S. One more side note: I would like to apologize if I come across a little harsh, I AM just severely allergic to (unnecessary) taxes & stupid spending practices.
P.P.S. When I 'Googled' HST... for a picture.. it brought up a bunch of 'Black Holes' ... could that be a sign that WE should be listening to? ( HST on Google = Hubble Space Telescope )
I LOVE your work! Daniel G.
ReplyDeletethe hst would have been good if it really was helpful as the government claims it is, unfortunately it will help business and make life for the regular person more expensive, the hst should have exempeted all the items it did previously, then it would have been doing the job the government says it will do,in reality, it's only another way to get more taxes from the middle class, a class of people that keeps diminishing with each passing year,
ReplyDeleteby the way Marcia, i liked what you said at the end, but is anyone listening in government? i doubt it, 700,000 signatures and still government doesnt care, do you know that now Interior Health is going to get private ambulance service for those people with non emergency need, if need a ride in an ambulance most often it is an emergency, and i dont want someone who only has first aid to transport me where i have to go, but this is another way our government is taking care of us
ReplyDelete