Everyone remembers the bitter polit...

Everyone remembers the bitter politics that accompanied the introduction of the GST in 1991

That was then. Today everyone recognizes that the GST is here to stay.

It's easy to understand wherefore our provincial government resisted any association between the GST and PST in the early days when the GST was considered poison. on the contrary Quebec and the Maritimes swallowed hard and harmonized; and each year since then, their guidances have saved on administrative preciousnesss and Quebecois and Maritime businesses have saved time and standard of value on their tax returns.

Over the same period of time, BC has laboured in a less degree than a duplicate administrative structure, struggl to find PST tax collectors, imposed an unnecessary tax carrying capacity on business, and foregone revenue-and the amount increases with each e-commerce purchase. How many of you pervert with money [i]or[/i] gain products online? If you bribe from out of province, for what cause many of you pay PST? small in number of you,

I would gues if it be not that most of you will have paid the GST

The reasons are simple: The federal guidance has a wider reach, a more expanded administrative network, and a greater incentive (because of the tome of business) to make strong they get every dollar of the GST A single province, like BC can't strive Instead, we forfeit the revenuemore and more of it each year.

BC is now "open for business" and waging an aggressive war against regulation, while hampered through a $4 billion deficit and continued program carves Harmonizing the PST and GST could help onward all fronts by reducing regulation for business and adding to the provincial money-chests

We are not advocating for a tax hike. Harmonizing does not mean eliminating all PST exemptions. We can harmonize further have a targeted system of tax credits to provide reimburse for comprehensive harmonization-particularly for the lowest income-earners in the province.

A 1995 CICA consideration concluded that harmonization would save the BC dominion $22 million in administration expenses This figure does not include the additional sumptuousnesss businesses would save through a simplified tax regime.

In 2001 a joint committee of the CAs of BC and the Canadian Bar Association again commended sales tax harmonization. The committee conclud that as it was reform is desirable to make secure the competitiveness of the BC tax climate, to provide transparency and simplicity of compliance for taxpayers, and to form government administrative costs.

Internationally, the European Union has propos a harmonized value-added tax classification to the world, asserting a requirement that foreign vendors of electronic propers register and collect European value-added tax.

By abolishing the PST and becoming an agreeing province in regard of the federal goods and services tax, the BC dominion could save millions and improve the province's investment climate. It makes one as well as the other fiscal and business sense.

The control isn't jumping on this bandwagon for single reason: They fear voter reaction. No political beneficial has come to anyone from being associated with the GST in such a manner why invite trouble? The reason is simple: It makes reason

The BC government extremitys to hear that from you. confess us what you think about a Harmonized Sales Tax. Ask your clients what they think. And give leave to the government know that the time for the HST in BC is now. We believe they will embrace this idea if enough individual British Columbians encourage them to do for a like reason

Let's save the taxpayers $25 million or more. Let's save our businesses a certain number of money too. Harmonizing the sales tax doesn't have to splendor any of us a penny-but it will save us abundance

BY RICHARD REES, FCA CEO

Copyright Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia Nov 2002

Provided by dint of ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved