Stop the Unfair Tax Grab
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Information
Category:
Common Interest - Politics
Description:
Dalton McGuinty's new HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) will hurt thousands of Ontarians who are already paying more than their fair share of taxes.

A new 8% tax on gas, hydro and everyday purchases like coffee and newspapers will make life even less affordable for middle-class and working Ontarians.

Ontarians don't need another unfair tax. We need to get Ontario's economy back on track with smart policies like "Buy Ontario" and targeted investments that create and sustain Jobs.

Join thousands of... (read more)
Privacy Type:
Open: All content is public.

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MPP for Beaches-East York
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MP for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek
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MP for Windsor West
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MP for London-Fanshawe
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Stop the Unfair Tax Grab

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Basic Info
 

Name:
Stop the Unfair Tax Grab
Category:
Common Interest - Politics
Description:
Dalton McGuinty's new HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) will hurt thousands of Ontarians who are already paying more than their fair share of taxes.

A new 8% tax on gas, hydro and everyday purchases like coffee and newspapers will make life even less affordable for middle-class and working Ontarians.

Ontarians don't need another unfair tax. We need to get Ontario's economy back on track with smart policies like "Buy Ontario" and targeted investments that create and sustain Jobs.

Join thousands of... (read more)
Privacy Type:
Open: All content is public.

Contact Info
 

Email:
Location:
Toronto, ON

Recent News
 

News:
Ontario can't drop new tax
Robert Benzie, The Toronto Star
September 24, 2009

Ontario's controversial harmonized sales tax is here to stay – no matter who wins the next federal or provincial elections, documents confirm.

Buried in the fine print of the accord signed last March between Ottawa and Queen's Park is a clause that ensures the new 13 per cent tax, which takes effect July 1, remains at that rate until at least 2012.

Premier Dalton McGuinty said yesterday he was not up on the minutiae of the four-page memorandum of agreement, which also stipulates the HST must be in place through 2015.

"I'm actually not familiar with that stuff," McGuinty said. "I'm sure that (Finance Minister Dwight Duncan) will be of help."

He said it was important for both levels of government to give the levy, which blends the 8 per cent provincial sales tax with the 5 per cent federal goods and services tax, a strong foundation.

"Our intention is simply to put in place a tax system that is modern and efficient and that enhances our competitiveness and enables us to create more jobs – that's what it's all about," the premier told reporters.

"In no jurisdiction that they have put this into place have they ever repealed it.

"There's a broad consensus among economists and, in their hearts of hearts, politicians as well, that this is the right thing to do," he said.

Duncan, who co-signed the pact with federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, said Ottawa insisted upon the provisions that entrench the business-friendly HST.

"That was something the federal government wanted. The Canada Revenue Agency will now collect the tax and it's enormously complex," said Duncan.

"We agreed to it. Ontario political parties, if they choose, ... can start changing it – either raising it or lowering it, frankly –in 2012," he said, noting that any modifications would have to wait until nine months after the October 2011 election.

In exchange, the federal government is giving Ontario $4.3 billion in transition funds, most of which will be passed along to lower- and middle-income families in the form of rebate cheques.

Duncan's comments came after federal Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff finally admitted Monday he would not repeal the tax if his party defeats Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Tories.

Ignatieff's view of the tax has national implications since an almost-identical deal with British Columbia means that province will have a 12 per cent HST as of next July 1 in exchange for $1.6 billion in federal funding.

Designed to be business-friendly, the streamlined HST will raise the price of a slew of goods and services in Ontario that are not now subject to the provincial sales tax, including gasoline, fast-food value meals, tobacco and funerals.

.....

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, who also opposes the tax but hadn't studied the accord, said it is further evidence "why we have to stop the tax from even going in."

"We have to become more vigorous in our opposition to the tax and we have to get the people of Ontario to join the campaign against it because ... we have to make sure the tax never sees the light of day in Ontario," said Horwath.

Harmonized tax plan a dud, opposition says
Jul 28, 2009
Toronto Star

Premier Dalton McGuinty can keep trying to sell his controversial harmonized sales tax to Ontarians but it won't work, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said today, displaying thousands of signatures on petitions against the new 13 per cent levy taking hold next July 1.

"People simply aren't buying," she told a news conference today with a pile of petitions and cards the NDP said contained 20,000 signatures, in addition to another 30,000 received online. One of the petition cards was signed "a follower of Jesus Christ."

...

But Horwath and the Conservatives keep hammering on the fact that consumers will feel the pinch of the new tax at the cash register, when more taxes are charged on everything to gasoline and gym memberships to coffee, muffins, home renovations and veterinary bills, to name a few.

Coming out of recession is the wrong time to bring in such a tax, Horwath said at Queen's Park. "We need that consumer confidence to stimulate the economy...this tax is going to do the opposite," she told reporters. "If enough people are loud and clear...then we can get the McGuinty government to stop."


HST's reception: Ontarians are paying attention
The Windsor Star
Published: Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Premier Dalton McGuinty recently speculated that most Ontarians still aren't aware of his government's plans to harmonize the eight-per-cent provincial sales tax with the five per cent GST, an initiative that will extend the PST to a host of new goods and services.

"As we get closer to July of next year (when the new tax will be implemented), then they're going to stare into the the face of it and better understand what it's all about," said the premier.

However, early indications are that Ontarians are quite aware of the harmonized tax -- and don't like it. A poll by Nanos Research found that two-thirds of Ontarians have a negative view of the 13 per cent tax, while only 23 per cent see it as a positive move. Ten per cent had no opinion.

.....

"It's pretty clear that Ontarians are concerned about the potential negative effects of harmonization," said Nik Nanos CEO of the polling company.

Another group that's concerned about the HST is the Retail Council of Canada, which is worried that the province will either embed the new tax in price tags or force retailers to display the amount of the blended tax directly on price tags. The council is worried mixing the tax with price tags will make goods look far more expensive -- hurting businesses when they are facing Internet and cross-border competition.

"That puts Ontario retailers at a competitive disadvantage compared to their closest neighbours," according to Mark Beazley, communications director of the Retail Council. But while transparency should always be an issue with any tax measure, the central issue with the HST is that it is the wrong tax at the wrong time.

Here's a list of some of the items that will cost more: gasoline, home heating fuel, electricity, natural gas, home renovations, home TV service, Internet service, phone service, lawyers' fees, accountants' fees, tailoring, newspapers and magazines, mutual fund fees, train and plane fares, snow removal, meals under $4, green fees for golf.

Despite what the premier may think, people are paying attention to what they see as expensive, new tax increases they weren't told about the last time they voted.