As a small business CRA assigns you an annual reporting period, but gives you the option of monthly or quarterly reporting periods, which means that you do not have to wait until next year to get your ITCs back. The same will apply when GST returns. It’s your choice.
I would never set out to prove that you are an idiot, that’s not my style, but I don’t understand why you let your landlord get away with raising your rent by 1/6. That’s a 16% increase, which is illegal unless the landlord got permission from the Residential Tenancy Branch (HST would not be an acceptable reason). The maximum allowable annual rent increase is the inflation rate plus 2%, which is less than 4% a year. The inflation rate part of the calculation has been surprisingly stable notwithstanding that living costs have skyrocketed.
[quote=“MeepMeepZoom”]I have to say, I am utterly dumbfounded that people can have such wildly differing experiences in the same province, in the same economy.
IT would be interesting for someone to speculate on why the cost of living has gone up for what seems to be so dramatically. At the end of the day I’m happy to see that the citizens who drive our economy, are not burdened further so “businesses” can prosper. Don’t get me wrong, once upon a time I was a small business owner, and I have to say, I don’t agree with anyone’s quams with the HST because when I went into business, I learned my operation in and out and there are lots of write offs for any equipment you buy. I learned accounting and my till, inventory and billing system.
Of course everyone’s “speculation” on the compounded function of the HST is the curious part. Maybe the gov will do a study on how businesses applied the ITC’s and equipment purchase function of the HST to see if the businesses acted in a way consistent with analyst speculation and forecasting.
On April 1st, I’m going to go get a haircut, whether I need one or not. Might drop by a resteraunt with my family. Because I agree with the reinstatement of the PST/GST system. I just hope they don’t go sideways and instate the total PST/GST on the same items because then I’ll keep my money in my pocket. That’s my money, I work hard for it. There is a line - and the HST crossed it.[/quote]
The only line the HST crossed was the shadiness of how it was brought in.
As for the cost of living going up…that has gone up UNIVERSALLY across this country AND the US…you cannot blame the HST for driving up the cost of living in this province, not when it is happening all over North America.
Oh and the HST certainly did not curb my spending when it comes to haircuts or restaurants…I don’t know anyone who “curbed” their spending on anything to be honest. I think that angle is a bunch of hot air to be honest. If anything, consumer spending was down due to economic slowdown…the anti-HST propagandist would have you believe otherwise of course…damn that HST, its responsible for every bad thing to happen around here.
[quote=“bthedog”]The only line the HST crossed was the shadiness of how it was brought in.
As for the cost of living going up…that has gone up UNIVERSALLY across this country AND the US…you cannot blame the HST for driving up the cost of living in this province, not when it is happening all over North America.
Oh and the HST certainly did not curb my spending when it comes to haircuts or restaurants…I don’t know anyone who “curbed” their spending on anything to be honest. I think that angle is a bunch of hot air to be honest. If anything, consumer spending was down due to economic slowdown…the anti-HST propagandist would have you believe otherwise of course…damn that HST, its responsible for every bad thing to happen around here.[/quote]
Of course this had nothing at all to do with the deception and outright theft of the banking industry.
[quote=“bthedog”]The only line the HST crossed was the shadiness of how it was brought in.
As for the cost of living going up…that has gone up UNIVERSALLY across this country AND the US…you cannot blame the HST for driving up the cost of living in this province, not when it is happening all over North America.
Oh and the HST certainly did not curb my spending when it comes to haircuts or restaurants…I don’t know anyone who “curbed” their spending on anything to be honest. I think that angle is a bunch of hot air to be honest. If anything, consumer spending was down due to economic slowdown…the anti-HST propagandist would have you believe otherwise of course…damn that HST, its responsible for every bad thing to happen around here.[/quote]
Of course this had nothing at all to do with the deception and outright theft of the banking industry.[/quote]
What I found pretty hilarious is the notion in this thread that the increase in cost of living is because of the HST (which it is not).
The banking crisis in the US certainly contributed to the downward spiral of the worldwide economy, which certainly has had an impact on cost of living everywhere.
Leveling the playing field
B.C.'s Finance Minister Mike de Jong says the reason the government is not rolling the tax on used vehicles sold privately back to pre-HST levels is to keep the tax in line with the 12 per cent tax on all new and used vehicles sold by dealers.
Before the HST was brought in July 2010, there was only a seven per cent PST on the sale of used vehicles by private sellers when the price of the vehicle was less than $55,000. All cars sold by dealers were taxed with an additional five per cent GST, for a total of 12 per cent sales tax.
“We made the decision to eliminate that differential and it really wasn’t tied to whether we were in a HST or PST regime,” said de Jong.
B.C. Finance Minister Mike de Jong says the aim was to level the playing field on all used car sales. (CBC)
At face value, keeping the tax seems to contradict the promise made last year by former finance minister Kevin Falcon to roll back all taxes to what they were in 2010, when the HST is phased out
-CBC NEWS
In other words It doesn’t matter what you peons voted for! We can do whatever we want and there ain’t a goddam thing you can do about it.
After all it’s only fair to used car dealers who are far more important than you.
I know of four used cars in the last fourteen months that were “gifted” between complete strangers. Prior to the HST, I knew of none.
Driving the economy underground isn’t a bright idea either - which is always a stated problem in studies done when VAT’s are introduced. Rather pathetic this government thinks it can get away with this kind of thing.
As for the cost of living rising, yes, the US markets and downfalls play a large part in that, but prior to the HST being introduced the overall cost of living seemed to be much lower. Have there been any studies done on the full effect of the HST since it’s introduction - because what I am trying to say is that the tax is supposed to influence in a certain manner, and not in the “common sense” way that most “anti-HST supporters” think it will.
However, as a personal opinion and a person who is slightly insulated from the hidden statistics of the logistics and supply line for many types of products is that the tax acted exactly in the way it was not intended, rather than the way it was intended.
It would be interesting to see a study that says during the interim time we had the HST the economy grew, jobs were created and overall the economy in British Columbia improved. Of course, it would have to not be paid for by the Liberals to be credible.
I have no idea whether the HST is/was a much better tax system than the GST/PST. Like 99+% of us, I am not an economist and even then, there are differing opinions amongst economists.
The tax was defeated for two reasons, the first, obviously, the sneaky way in which it was introduced.
But the second - which seems to be lost in the discussion - is the $2B tax shift from corporations to consumers. Consumers (us) would be paying more and corporations less. The payoff, we were told, was that corporations would become more competitive resulting in more jobs and lower prices.
Now that may or may not be true. But coming from a group of people who were already friendly with big business through corporate tax cuts and deals like IPPs and the selling of BCRail as well as a reputation (deserved or not) of being loose with the truth, the majority of the province decided it wasn’t true.
And right now that is the biggest problem facing the Liberals. Trust. Fewer and fewer people believe them. They said the budget was balanced and 72% of the province compared to 12% think it isn’t. cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c … -poll.html
But the second - which seems to be lost in the discussion - is the $2B tax shift from corporations to consumers. Consumers (us) would be paying more and corporations less. [/quote]
Consumers are paying it either way. The difference is in one scenario it is openly documented, in the other case it is hidden.
But the second - which seems to be lost in the discussion - is the $2B tax shift from corporations to consumers. Consumers (us) would be paying more and corporations less. [/quote]
Consumers are paying it either way. The difference is in one scenario it is openly documented, in the other case it is hidden.[/quote]
I think I understand this. However, consumers would still be paying more in taxes. I believe the average is $350/year. The payoff was that businesses would be paying less and as a result would lower their prices to offset the $350. In a perfect world that would be wonderful. Unfortunately, that perfect world didn’t exist. The people in BC did not believe the government when they said that corporations would pass on these savings. Not only did we have a banking crisis that proved that corporations were not and never had been interested in anything more than creating profits for themselves but the BC government was becoming less and less believable.
I am not arguing the tax. I am just saying that you and I have differing trust issues when it comes to something the Liberals say. You can believe that the tax saving would have been passed on. I didn’t.
And right now that is the biggest problem facing the Liberals. Trust. Fewer and fewer people believe them. They said the budget was balanced and 72% of the province compared to 12% think it isn’t. cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c … -poll.html[/quote]
Yes, and according to the same CBC article an awe inspiring 24% think that the NDP would have done better and 5% gushed that finances would have been “much better” under Dix. Given that the NDP is well over 29% in the polls large numbers of their own supporters don’t even believe that Dix would have done better.
The ‘trust’ argument goes on and on and on, but it’s a tired refrain that is not going to change minds that were made up long ago, about the HST (which will be gone on Monday) and the sale of BC Rail (which also resulted in CN investments that have helped this riding).
The Liberals will be gone. They’re toast. The only meaningful question is what will the NDP do when Dix is premier? What’s inside the the empty box?
I am just curious. If not the trust issue, why will the Liberals be toast? Or did you mean that the trust issue is important but that you are tired of hearing about it.
Forget the alternative for a moment and how empty or full their box of promises might be. What do you think is the main reason that the Liberals are in the kind of electoral trouble they currently face? Maybe the supporters of the Liberals can help answer the question.
Despite all the good that Liberals claim they have done and despite all the harm they claim the NDP have done in the past and despite how lacking the NDP seem to be with their current platform, the Liberals are in a whole lot of trouble. Why?
Forget the alternative for a moment and how empty or full their box of promises might be. What do you think is the main reason that the Liberals are in the kind of electoral trouble they currently face? Maybe the supporters of the Liberals can help answer the question.
… the Liberals are in a whole lot of trouble. Why?[/quote]
Frankly I don’t care about why the Liberals are in a whole lot of trouble because they’re going to be gone. People have already made up their minds. Look at the polls.
And I’m not going to “forget the alternative” and their empty box because the NDP will form the next government. Anything who thinks otherwise is delusional.
If there is one thing that causes me to lack confidence in the NDP, to the point where I’m not sure that I can vote for them (as I have in the past), it is their ongoing efforts to deflect attention away from themselves. It just doesn’t let up. I would like to be given some positive reasons for voting for them.
I suspect that there are a whole bunch of us who are sick of the negativity of both main parties.
I am just curious. If not the trust issue, why will the Liberals be toast? Or did you mean that the trust issue is important but that you are tired of hearing about it.
Forget the alternative for a moment and how empty or full their box of promises might be. What do you think is the main reason that the Liberals are in the kind of electoral trouble they currently face? Maybe the supporters of the Liberals can help answer the question.
Despite all the good that Liberals claim they have done and despite all the harm they claim the NDP have done in the past and despite how lacking the NDP seem to be with their current platform, the Liberals are in a whole lot of trouble. Why?[/quote]
I think they are in the trouble they are in because of the HST…that is the absolute #1 reason why they are in a position to lose the next election.
The sale of BC Rail certainly is another factor, but I would say that is much less more of a “mainstream” issue here for the BCLiberals and like others have mentioned, that sale has greatly benefited our North Coast riding.
Take away the HST blunder (and it was a HUGE blunder) and the level of distrust that it has brought with it…and the BC Liberals would be winning again in May.
The distrust that many have for the BC Liberals stems from the HST and that is why all of these smaller scandals (the wood buildings in PG, the ethnic vote nightmare) are having a snowball effect for the Liberals.
I think the BC Liberals have weathered BC through the economic downturn of 2008 and the slow build that has followed in the years after. They have kept the province relatively stable and made cuts where cuts needed to be made. So I don’t think they are in this position because of the economy.
But if you want a reason for why the Liberals are going to lose, its the HST.