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wolfsbrideSo, some people have complained that all I talk about is work or the garden. So here's something new. A political rant :D
We now have a new - old tax, the HST. Stands for Harmonized Sales Tax. I think the only thing harmonized about it is bull the federal and provincial governments are singing.
We used to have two taxes. Federally, the GST - Goods and Services Tax @ 5% and provincially, the PST - Provincial Sales Tax @ 7%. I really don't know how or why it came about but suddenly both governments decided that they wanted to combine the two under one name. Ergo HST @ 12%
Sounds nifty doesn't it. It's not a NEW tax. We're still at 12% so the tax hasn't increased. That's good right???
Only, there were a lot of things that were just GST -5%. So now those things are going to cost 7% more than they used to. Things like stamps and haircuts and restaurants and BOOKKEEPING.
Supposedly, it's going to cut down on a lot of paper work. Personally, I think it's just going to shift the paperwork from one place to another. Not to mention, all the people that used to work in the PST department are now out of work. I assume anyway. Who knows. Maybe the government will absorb them into some other area.
Also, it's supposed to be good for businesses because of the less paperwork thing and the more revenue generated. Only, I think that's going to end up backfiring. Case in point. I just ordered in for the first time since the change over and I was all... wait.. that doesn't sound right... oh yeah.... forgot about the extra 7%. So for myself, I'm probably going to order in less or not at all. And I don't imagine I'm going to be the only one who rethinks their dining choices with that extra amount being added to the bill. I think some people will either cut back on eating out or cut back on tipping to make up the difference.
I guess we'll see how it goes. I think the most annoying thing about this whole issue for me anyway is how both governments are touting it as GETTING RID OF THE PST. No. You're NOT getting rid of it. You're HIDING it under a new name. At least be honest about it. Sheesh.
We now have a new - old tax, the HST. Stands for Harmonized Sales Tax. I think the only thing harmonized about it is bull the federal and provincial governments are singing.
We used to have two taxes. Federally, the GST - Goods and Services Tax @ 5% and provincially, the PST - Provincial Sales Tax @ 7%. I really don't know how or why it came about but suddenly both governments decided that they wanted to combine the two under one name. Ergo HST @ 12%
Sounds nifty doesn't it. It's not a NEW tax. We're still at 12% so the tax hasn't increased. That's good right???
Only, there were a lot of things that were just GST -5%. So now those things are going to cost 7% more than they used to. Things like stamps and haircuts and restaurants and BOOKKEEPING.
Supposedly, it's going to cut down on a lot of paper work. Personally, I think it's just going to shift the paperwork from one place to another. Not to mention, all the people that used to work in the PST department are now out of work. I assume anyway. Who knows. Maybe the government will absorb them into some other area.
Also, it's supposed to be good for businesses because of the less paperwork thing and the more revenue generated. Only, I think that's going to end up backfiring. Case in point. I just ordered in for the first time since the change over and I was all... wait.. that doesn't sound right... oh yeah.... forgot about the extra 7%. So for myself, I'm probably going to order in less or not at all. And I don't imagine I'm going to be the only one who rethinks their dining choices with that extra amount being added to the bill. I think some people will either cut back on eating out or cut back on tipping to make up the difference.
I guess we'll see how it goes. I think the most annoying thing about this whole issue for me anyway is how both governments are touting it as GETTING RID OF THE PST. No. You're NOT getting rid of it. You're HIDING it under a new name. At least be honest about it. Sheesh.
