Residents almost equally divided on HST, poll finds divided, government, proposal, released

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Residents almost equally divided on HST, poll finds
But proposal to lower tax to 10 per cent appears to be turning tide of public opinion toward keeping it



The B.C. government’s proposed HST cut may have turned the tide of public opinion, with B.C. residents now almost equally divided on whether to keep or scrap the tax, according to an Ipsos Reid poll released Friday.

Sixty per cent of B.C. residents approve of proposed changes that would lower the HST to 10 per cent by 2014 and provide transition cheques to families and low-income seniors, according to the poll conducted for Global TV.

Forty-two per cent of respondents say they would vote to keep the HST, while 40 per cent say they would vote to scrap the harmonized tax and revert to the PST and GST. The remaining 18 per cent are undecided.

It’s quite a reversal from an Ipsos Reid survey taken just two weeks ago, in which 52 per cent said they would vote to scrap the HST, 36 per cent said they would vote to keep it and 12 per cent were undecided.

Of those who favour the HST changes announced Wednesday by Premier Christy Clark, 44 per cent “approve somewhat” and 16 per cent “strongly” approve, according to the survey.

Ipsos Reid conducted the latest online survey May 26 and 27 with 1,150 B.C. residents. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.9 per cent, 19 times out of 20. Survey participants were informed of Wednesday’s proposed changes to the HST; the survey does not measure the likelihood of people voting in the mail-in referendum, the pollster noted.

If the numbers accurately reflect public opinion, it’s good news for a B.C. government that has struggled to both distance itself from how the HST was introduced and drain momentum from Fight HST forces.

On Friday, Finance Minister Kevin Falcon told members of the Vancouver business community to “be unashamed” to take the pro-HST message to their friends and relatives.

The “deplorable” rollout of the HST created the information vacuum that was quickly filled by opponents of the tax, Falcon told the Vancouver Board of Trade audience.

He said the government discovered the extent of the misinformation during a series of consultations and town-hall meetings with 275,000 British Columbians earlier this year.

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For example, a majority of people who took an HST quiz at HSTinBC.ca believed that taxes paid on basic groceries have gone up, when they haven’t, he said.

The “listening exercise” led directly to the changes promised Wednesday, Falcon said: “We listened to what we heard and we responded.” He said the government will accept the referendum result, but wants to ensure B.C. residents make an informed decision.

Going back to a PST/GST system would blow a $3-billion hole in B.C.’s fiscal plan, he warned, and make it “very, very difficult” for any government to balance the budget without deep spending cuts.

In addition to the $1.6-billion transition payment that would have to be returned to Ottawa, there would be $1.2 billion in reduced revenues and millions of dollars in administration costs.

“This isn’t a choice between HST and nothing,” Falcon said. “It is a choice between HST at 10 per cent and going back to a 12-per-cent PST-plus-GST dual-tax system.”

In addition to a two-stage tax cut that would drop the HST from 12 per cent to 10 per cent by 2014, Premier Christy Clark is promising transition cheques to families and low-income seniors and a two-per-cent hike in the corporate-tax rate to compensate for lost revenue.

The net corporate rate hike would in fact be just 0.5 per cent, Falcon said, because the two-per-cent hike (from 10 to 12 per cent) comes into effect the same day the federal government cuts corporate taxes by 1.5 per cent.

He pointed out that the corporate tax rate was 16.4 per cent when the Liberals first took office and now sits at just 10 per cent.

Falcon said 140 countries now have a value-added sales tax such as the HST rather than a retail sales tax: “Let’s not go against that tide.”

Talking to reporters after the speech, Falcon said the business community remains supportive despite the corporate tax hike.

“What I heard from the business community today was, ‘If that’s what it takes to get the HST across the line, we’re very supportive,’” he said.

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Finance minister Kevin Falcon announces $1.7 in funding for the HST referendum at a news conference in April. Falcon Wednesday delivered a fix for the HST designed to address two objections to the tax.