As individual minsters in the Liberal Party in BC quits as an action to present their riding’s voters wishes, the government still resists to directly admit defeat in this “added value” tax. As voters continue to complain through petitions, it seems like the government is turning a blind eye. Nonetheless, as mentioned before, even though I don’t support HST myself, (personal opinion only and not that of Posh) it is now showing signs that direct impact is imminent.
As of July first, the state of Washington, has opened its doors inviting that of British Columbians to do their shopping south of the Boarder. What a smart way, I thought to myself. There’s a state that knows how to be competitive! The direct impact to our local economy is that spending will be sent South, however with that being said, the BC government is still better off, with huge injection of cash into the system.
What exactly does that mean? For BC citizens, we no longer have to pay state taxes when we shop in Washington. Okay, with that being said, that means that when we shop in the states for our Ipad, we save roughly $40 bucks CDN when shopping for a 16GB unit in States, then on top of that the tax exempt in Washington. We’re talking about a $60 dollar difference.
At the end of the day, it encourages locals to visit our neighbours in the States and ultimately, its going to cost us in the long run.
HST will also hurt all retail owners, extra money paid for rent. Now, that ultimately will have to reflect on costs, otherwise, out of business.
To be tax exempt, all you have to do is show your driver’s license at the till. Gosh, is that easy or what?
