They were successful in killing the Harmonized Sales Tax in British Columbia, where they kicked up enough of a protest to spark a province-wide referendum that took place between June and early August.
Those results were released on Friday and showed that 54.73 per cent of people voted to get rid of the HST, while 45.27 voted to keep it. For more information on the numbers, click here.
Full marks to the folks in B.C. for shaking off apathy and not just rolling over and accepting the HST. The courage of their conviction came through loud and clear on an issue that affects not only the golf industry, but other businesses as well.
Will the rest of the country follow suit?
In Ontario, a provincial election is coming up. Could the HST become an issue more than a year after it was implemented at the same time as B.C.? The Liberal government in that province might have thought the issue had cooled off but the vote out west might revive it.
Might Ontario residents even demand a referendum on the issue, now that B.C. has successfully pulled it off?
The result in B.C. may cause other provinces that haven’t implemented the HST to think twice before trying to introduce it in the future. If they still try to force the HST in those areas, referendums could become a common event across the country.
Is everybody willing to act as the people in B.C. did? That’s the subject of this week’s GNN Poll.
After what happened in B.C., do you see more HST referendums coming¸ either in provinces where it exists or regions that may try to implement the HST in the future?
- YES (58%)
- NO (42%)
Thank-you.
Loading ...Also, feel free to add your own thoughts on this subject. Perhaps, you think the HST is a good thing, so tell us why. What effect has the HST had on the golf industry? Do you believe either provincial or federal governments will try to raise their portion in the future?
We look forward to your thoughts.
Ian,
I have to disagree with your comment that:
“Full marks to the folks in B.C. for shaking off apathy and not just rolling over and accepting the HST. The courage of their conviction came through loud and clear on an issue that affects not only the golf industry, but other businesses as well.”
Less than 50% of eligble voters bothered to ‘check and box and mail a piece of paper’. So I disagree that any sort of “loud and clear” message was given or received. We all know rounds of golf are not growing and the weather this year has been horrible across the country. The HST (in B.C.) at least brought golf course owners and operators some tax savings.
Never mind the $1.6 billion in funding the B.C. governement received from the feds. Here is a great line I got off Twitter on Friday that sums up the HST discussion:
“Let’s all vote to pay 12% total tax instead of 10%, hurt small business, and give $1.6 billion back to the Feds”.
It is to bad how was implemented, but just another hit to businesses and industries (like golf).
Jeff