After saying during the campaign that merging the PST and GST would be “a major concern” and that they had “no plans” to do so, yesterday the B.C. Liberal government suddenly flip-flopped.
Without any public consultation, Gordon Campbell reversed course after the election. This new tax came out of the blue, and will be a big blow to many sectors in B.C.'s economy. It will cost the restaurant industry alone an estimated $750 million in lost sales.
The Campbell government’s new tax will hit families in the pocketbook when they can least afford it, driving up the cost of dozens of goods and services by an extra seven per cent, including:
- Restaurant meals
- Hydro and heating bills
- New homes over $400,000
- Landline phone bills
- Most food products
- School supplies
- Gym memberships
- Taxi fares
- Hair cuts
- Movie and theatre tickets
- Home renovations
- Newspapers and magazines
- Domestic airline tickets
- Funerals
- Real estate fees
- Dry cleaning
- Vitamins
- Bicycles
Under the Campbell government, B.C. has had the worst rate of full-time job losses, the second-worst performing economy, and the highest level of child poverty in the country.