Dear Editor:
When the Legislature resumes on February 12th, we will debate the legislation to re-introduce the provincial sales tax, bringing to a close the final chapters in the BC Liberals harmonized sales tax (HST) debacle.
A draft copy of the legislation has been released to the public and it is well worth studying, particularly if you own or operate a business. If you would like a copy of the draft bill, please email my office at [email protected] or call 1-866-870-4188.
The BC Liberals promised that if they lost the HST referendum, they would move back to the pre-existing provincial sales tax. But a reading of the bill indicates that the new PST is actually quite different. It is up to you to decide whether or not the changes that have been made are consistent with the intent of the referendum result.
When the HST was first announced by the BC Liberals just weeks after the 2009 election, it was constituents that shared with me just how deeply your businesses and your budgets would be affected. It was with that information that we were able to successfully campaign to overturn the BC Liberal imposition of the HST.
In order to thoroughly debate the new PST legislation in the legislature, it is important that I hear from you how this version of the PST will affect your specific business. I thank you in advance for your input.
Norm Macdonald MLA
Columbia River – Revelstoke