Posted on 12/10/2009 12:10:01 AM PST by UAConservative
OTTAWA The House of Commons on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed legislation enabling the provinces to harmonize their sales taxes with the federal GST, clearing the way for Ontario and British Columbia to implement the HST this summer.
The federal HST bill passed by a vote of 253-37. Only the NDP opposed the legislation.
Both Ontario and B.C. plan to combine their provincial sales taxes with the federal goods and services tax on July 1.
Economists estimate that combining the tax will save businesses in Ontario billions, because firms will no longer have to pay tax on inputs such as materials and supplies. But the tax has outraged some consumers, who will see a rise in the amount of tax they pay on items such as gasoline in Ontario, and phone and cable bills in B.C.
(Excerpt) Read more at calgaryherald.com ...
Tax increases are never good.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.