BC LIBERALS HST DEAL WITH OTTAWA A DISASTER FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA, SAYS FIGHT HST

News Release                                                                     Wednesday, January 11, 2012

BC LIBERALS HST DEAL WITH OTTAWA A DISASTER FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA, SAYS FIGHT HST; SHOULD HAVE NEGOTIATED EARLY END TO HST, PRO-RATED 60% REDUCTION IN GRANT REPAYMENT

Premier Clark, Finance Minister Falcon costing BC hundreds of millions with incompetence

VANCOUVER – The grassroots group Fight HST says the BC Liberal government deal with the federal Conservative government to repay the $1.6 billion Harmonized Sales Tax grant is a disaster.

Fight HST Leader and former Premier Bill Vander Zalm said Wednesday Ottawa had taken the BC Liberals to the cleaners with an embarrassing deal that will cost British Columbians hundreds of millions more than the already painful HST.

“Why on earth is BC agreeing to payback the full $1.6 billion grant from Ottawa when we will have fulfilled three years of imposing the HST of the five year agreement by the time it ends?” Vander Zalm asked.  “The grant repayment should have been pro-rated to account for the full period the HST was charged.”

“That means BC should only be repaying about 40% of the grant when the HST is gone in 2013 – not 100% - what incompetence,” Vander Zalm said.

“And why is there no agreement to wrap up the HST right now if we are paying back the money – the deal should have included an immediate end to the HST but Premier Christy Clark and Finance Minister Kevin Falcon still say it will be at least March 2013 before the HST is gone – simply ridiculous!” he said.

Vander Zalm says both governments are making so much money from taxpayers off the HST that neither wants it to end anytime soon.

“The federal Conservatives are also benefitting hugely from the HST, collecting hundreds of millions in additional corporate taxes now because the PST businesses used to pay is instead paid for by consumers,” Vander Zalm said.  “Both governments are sticking it to BC consumers for as long as possible, despite the referendum vote.”

Fight HST Strategist Bill Tieleman says the failure of the BC Liberal government to come to an agreement to end the HST quickly means Fight HST will make the tax a key issue in two provincial by-election that must be called this year – in Port Moody-Coquitlam and Chlliwack-Hope – following BC Liberal MLA resignations.

“Voters clearly said in August 2011 that they wanted the HST gone right away – not in March 2013,” Tieleman said. 

“Now with this agreement failing to end the HST promptly, Fight HST will make it an issue in upcoming by-elections,” Tieleman said.

Tieleman said that in Port Moody-Coquitlam 9,677 voters cast ballots to extinguish the HST and in Chilliwack-Hope 8,991 voters also opted to get rid of the tax.

“If in a lower turnout by-election we can mobilize a portion of those voters who wanted the HST gone last year, not next year, it could have a significant effect on the results,” Tieleman said.  “Any candidate who doesn’t support the immediate end of the HST will have an immediate problem on by-election voting day.”

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