The new Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) is going forward, set to start July 1, 2010 according to Premier Dalton McGuinty. The 13% tax will without a doubt take money out of the pockets of consumers. How much, and on what items is what we would all like to know.
I have written numerous stories about the HST and have asked some fairly simple and straight forward questions. I have implored our local daily paper, the Windsor Star to do a real in-depth analysis of this tax. For starters the Star should publish a complete list of products that will cost more because of this new tax. The Federal and Provincial governments may have studies on how this tax could impact the job market. If so lets see them. The other big question for me is whether this tax will impact the cost of health care and education. If so how?
Why can't we get the answers to these questions? Windsor Star Chief Honcho Jim Venney and assistant chief honcho Marty Beneteau have all the resources they need to write endless stories about the Ambassador Bridge. They can devote huge resources and space to tell us about the pay and perks of the new General Motors Board of Directors. But for some reason they just can't seem to assign supersnoopers Dave Battegello and Grace Macaluso to give us the real goods on the implications, good or bad, about the biggest tax change since the introduction of the GST.
And finally those proposing the tax should be given the chance to tell us why its good for us.
In today's online edition of the Toronto Star we read the following:
McGuinty battles grumbling on HST
Full steam ahead for 13% blended tax, premier says
Aug 27, 2009
Rob Ferguson
Robert Benzie
Queen's Park Bureau
The 13 per cent harmonized sales tax is set in stone, Premier Dalton McGuinty has warned Liberal MPPs in a special caucus meeting on the controversial new levy.
For the full story click here.
