Why I'm voting against the HST

 The HST is bad for working British Columbians because it is a massive, unjustified cost shift directly from corporations to consumers, and that's why I'm voting against it.

To try and dampen down the anger about the HST, on May 25 the BC Liberals made promises regarding future changes to the HST and how "rebate cheques” would go to some families and seniors.

These promises are blatantly designed to try and buy the vote and save the HST, without significantly affecting the billions of dollars in savings the HST means to corporations – the same corporations that provide almost 90 percent of the BC Liberal party's funding.

The HST is paid solely by individuals and not-for-profit organizations. The changes announced by the BC Liberals leave $1.6 billion extra annually in the pockets of corporations while exposing the province to an additional $1 billion revenue drop within four years.

This misrepresentation by the Liberal government is something British Columbians have been experiencing for far too long. Before the HST was even considered, working people were seeing progressive increases to their taxes, and corporations were already paying far less than their share. Further, the HST came in to effect just months after the election when the BC Liberals said they weren't considering the HST.

With the HST, it's working people who lose, and the corporations that gain. Working people like our union's members understand what it means to be treated with equality and fairness, and we have to make it clear to the BC Liberals that taxes are a SHARED responsibility.

A YES vote says that citizens and businesses alike have a responsibility to fund the services that contribute to their well being. The actual HST ballot question you will receive in the mail reads as follows: "Are you in favour of extinguishing the HST (harmonized sales tax) and reinstating the PST (provincial sales tax) in conjunction with the GST (goods and services tax)?"

A successful YES vote will force the government to extinguish the HST, and restore the old PST and GST framework, a framework that has worked just fine in BC.