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HST bill has passed
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| Swamper |
Merry Christmas!
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/st...09/ont-hst.html
| quote: | Legislation to create a single 13 per cent sales tax in Ontario passed third and final reading Wednesday despite strong objections and delaying tactics by the Opposition.
Finance Minister Dwight Duncan told the legislature that blending the five per cent goods and services tax with the provincial tax will lower costs for businesses, allowing them to cut prices for consumers and hire more staff.
"Doing nothing is not an option [and] the status quo is just absolutely the wrong thing," Duncan said in third-reading debate.
"This package will create jobs."
The government estimates the harmonized sales tax (HST) will help create almost 600,000 jobs in Ontario over the next decade.
In an interview from Mumbai, India, Premier Dalton McGuinty said he is convinced the HST is critical to help reposition Ontario as it comes out of a recession in which the province lost hundreds of thousands of jobs.
"I think people understand in their heart of hearts that our world has changed and the old world is not coming back," said McGuinty.
"There are a number of things that we need to do to adjust to the new reality and secure a better future for our families, and one of those is to put in place a modern, competitive tax system."
The opposition parties failed to convince the government to hold public hearings on the HST bill across the province, and accused the Liberals of being afraid to face a voter backlash against the new tax.
The Liberals used their majority "to ram through the HST bill as quickly as possible and with little debate as possible," said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.
Tory attempts to block HST fail
The Progressive Conservatives reluctantly admitted defeat after weeks of trying to block the HST, including a 44-hour occupation of the legislature by two Tories, asking for frequent votes to delay proceedings, and repeatedly calling McGuinty a liar.
"When the Liberals walked out of committee hearings, they hammered home their contempt of those in this chamber, and in the public, who dared to get in the way of their rush to whatever is left in our wallets," Opposition critic Lisa MacLeod told the legislature.
"Some may talk about antics, they may disparage stunts and they may even dismiss this fight against the HST. For them I feel regret."
The legislation also includes cuts to corporate and income taxes that take effect Jan. 1, and one-time rebates of up to $1,000 for some families to offset the impact of the HST, which takes effect July 1.
The Tories call the HST a greedy tax grab and complain it will apply to many items exempt from the PST, including gasoline, home heating fuel and cable TV bills.
British Columbia is also set to merge its provincial sales tax with the GST on July 1, something Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador have already done. |
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| ChemEnhanced |
| I don't understand how this will create jobs and allow business to cut costs and pass those savings on to customers. |
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| Tordan |
| ^^ The corporate tax break might cut costs but they're going to use that to expand and/or hire more people. The consumer won't see a change in price of products... they'll just pay more in taxes. Well, I guess that is a change :) |
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| The Ear |
I know this is strictly the result of all the pro-conserrvative stuff spewed by Jayx1. I just know it! |
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| StereoPrincess |
| quote: | Originally posted by ChemEnhanced
I don't understand how this will create jobs and allow business to cut costs and pass those savings on to customers. |
i was thinking this too.
this is so stupid. |
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| DJOS2 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Tordan
^^ The corporate tax break might cut costs but they're going to use that to expand and/or hire more people. The consumer won't see a change in price of products... they'll just pay more in taxes. Well, I guess that is a change :) |
Much More than that... the reduction in corporate taxes allows the hiring of more people for existing business but also adds completely new businesses due to the favourable tax environment created in the province. Anyone with knowledge of how this works knows this is a major decision factor for business. Beyond being a major benefit to building the workforce, it also creates competition and therefore drives down prices for consumers, so everyone wins in the end.
Yes - you will pay more in the short term but a few years from now will see a stronger economy with more jobs, more people spending money and lower prices. This is all proven and not pie in the sky. We are competiting globally and the regions that have done this already (Atlantic Canada, Maritimes) have seen just this result.
The opposition tories are hoping everyone keys on "higher taxes" and isn't smart enough to look into this a little more. Even the federal tories and liberals are smart enough to know its a good thing. Federal Libs could have gone for the cheap vote getting like the provincial tories - luckily they didn't. People need to smarten up and not be lead around by sound bites.
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| ChemEnhanced |
| So they are making the assumption that businesses will use these savings and put them into expansion and job creation.....I don't know...until business are in the clear I only see them lining the pockets of the VPs with better bonuses. |
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| *~LiSa-LoO~* |
| I blame Jay. |
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| DigiNut |
| quote: | Originally posted by ChemEnhanced
I don't understand how this will create jobs and allow business to cut costs and pass those savings on to customers. |
Because it will bring in more money for the government and every liberal knows that the government is where jobs really come from. |
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| She_Fitz |
| Makes me happy to be moving. |
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| oldschool420 |
I don't really know a lot about this but aren't they basically just combining the current gst(5%) and pst(8%) rates together? Basically the same percentage of tax but now businesses will be able to recoup more of it back?
I don't get why this is bad. |
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