Tomorrow would be a sunnier day in B.C. if we weren't getting hit by both the HST and an increase in the carbon tax. Happy Canada Day.
 
The HST, which kicks-in on July 1, 2010, brings together the 7 per cent provincial sales tax (PST) with the 5 per cent goods and services tax (GST) for one "harmonized" 12 per cent sales tax. When the HST was first announced, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation recommended the provincial government protect families from this tax shift by reducing other taxes to offset the impact. The government partially agreed and increased the basic personal income tax exemption from $9,373 to $11,000. However, they are still hitting families with other tax increases.
 
For example, the carbon tax is also going up on July 1, 2010. It will rise from 3.33 cents per litre to 4.45 cents per litre for gasoline, and 3.84 cents per litre to 5.11 cents per litre for diesel. Families will be paying more to drive their kids to soccer practice and businesses will pass their cost increase to families in the form of higher prices for everything from food to clothing.
 
The government claims families will be better off with the HST because prices will go down over time -- oh, except when government is doing the pricing. One example is the PST on liquor, which will fall from 10 to 7 per cent under harmonization. Don't raise your glass in celebration too soon folks, because the government will increase the wholesale mark-up on alcohol to keep its tax grab the same.
 
To ensure families are better off, government must reduce the total family tax burden. The possibilities for protecting families from the tax shift are endless, unlike people’s patience with government's tax sleight of hand.