HST Rant

[whatsup 11893]

HST Rant

 

"What is the HST"

 

"The five per cent federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) is being combined with the eight per cent Provincial Sales Tax (PST) to create a single 13 per cent HST."

 

In recently receiving a couple of bills, I noticed that the GST,PST and HST were all charged. Now correct me if I am wrong but the way it is stated that the government was creating a single tax instead they are creating an additional tax.

 

This T shirt sums up my feelings about it all.

 

[bassnut 178]

Not sure bout that but I know I will be paying about 1200 more per year of gas ...... this year ..... well as long as they get thier pay rasie every year why should they care.

[Capital Hunter 18263]

HST Rant

 

Now correct me if I am wrong but the way it is stated that the government was creating a single tax instead they are creating an additional tax.

.

 

No, I agree. I think you are right whatsup . I think as usual we end up paying even more taxes.

[fortunateone 156618]

Should just be one (the HST), not all 3. Not sure if there is an error on the bill, or if they are laying it out but you might want to verify the total before and after taxes?

[Old Dog 179138]

It was probably a bill that bridged the July 1st billing period. So you have Rogers for example that bills you on the 5th of the month, so from the 6th of June to the 30th of June you pay PST and GST, from July 1st to July 5th you pay HST. I doubt that you are going to see any reputable company that would slap both on you... the media would be all over that like a fat kid on a smartie.

[Seymour 3970]

Never thought I'd see Rogers and the expression 'reputable company' in the same sentence ......

[HarveySpecter 1908]

Never thought I'd see Rogers and the expression 'reputable company' in the same sentence ......

 

yeaa that is quite the irony, if that is the correct word.

 

 

I did get a mail for the government i think explaining the whole HST thing. Havent read it yet but i already had an idea of it when it was first annnounced last yr.

[Nicolette Vaughn 294340]

Never thought I'd see Rogers and the expression 'reputable company' in the same sentence ......

 

True that! LOL.

[mod 135639]

It's a TRANSITIONAL month. Meaning part of your bill from last month if pro-rated by day (Such as a cell phone that incurs fee's each day) would have GST and PST still from last month and as of July 1st would also have HST on those days from July 1st to now.

 

This is going to freak out a lot of people and the service calls to the billing departments this month is going to be crazy from stuff like this!!

 

Regular monthly subscriptions should not have HST/PST/GST all on the same bill but Rogers, Bell, Fido, Etc...you will (or should) see this as you have daily charges.

[ArmitageShanks 100]

Not sure bout that but I know I will be paying about 1200 more per year of gas ...... this year ..... well as long as they get thier pay rasie every year why should they care.

 

You spend $15,000 on gas each year? Time to buy a hybrid????

[Reddog01 30280]

Like typical Canadians we let the HST slip in hardly noticed until too late. The Ontario Liberal government says it is good for business. Some costs will go down on materials. It is supposed to create jobs....All I know is I had to pay an additional tax to the tune of $700.00 to get my furnace replaced, the fan that drives the AC air seized last week. Did you notice gas went up at the pumps? That was because of the HST. How about alcohol, the price was supposed to drop as GST was removed (HST was not supposed to go against booze), but the LCBO decided to raise prices to negate any savings. Just brutal. Canadians should say enough is enough; we are being taxed to death...... I have already emailed the premier.

[mod 135639]

The general population here was bought off with the promises of getting big hst rebate cheques to "HELP OFFSET" with the HST transition. Stupid public only sees it as FREE MONEY!

 

Nobody wanted the HST did they?

 

We were promised taxes would not be raised? This should be political suicide!!

 

In other countries we would see a huge uprising (revolt) but we are good Canadians and we don't raise a fuss so they stick it to us!

 

HST SUCKS for everyone and once those B.S. rebate cheques stop coming and you realize you have a lot less money in your pocket - it will be way too late to complain.

 

A note to anyone who was gullible enough to only see the big rebates as free money and not raise a stink about HST .... Enjoy the rebates as it's the governments way of paying you off for screwing us all.

 

You do know the LCBO is one of the only profitable companies the government (Crown) owns right? You did not expect them to raise prices?? Since the late 80's the postal service has also been profitable and I would imagine HST is now charged on stamps too! Have not purchased any myself but I bet they are charging HST!

[The General 11309]

I can confirm that HST is now charged of stamps, bought some this weekend.

 

The HST could have been managed several ways, both to the consumer and reporting. Companies can enjoy some streamlining, since they won't need to deal with as much double reporting, once they are able to handle both. The Government can benefit, since they can reduce the amount of resources processing some of the reporting. The consumer could have benefited, depending on how the HST was applied, it could have been removed from a broader group of items, but alas, the government saw this as an opportunity to increase revenues as well. So, the consumer got very little, a small reduction in the lowest income tax bracket (this is permanent, or at least until the government decides to raise it back and the provincial government thought they should pay us some hush money, by sending cheques.

 

At the end of the day, we do get a lot of services from the government, some efficient, some not so, but someone has to pay for it. There should be efforts to get rid of the inefficiencies and one may have been the move to the HST. We will see in the long run.

 

Additional Comments:

Reddog,

 

You would have probably had to pay both taxes on the furnace, but probalby only the GST on the service cost. So, not all of the taxes would have been avoidable before July 1, only some.

 

Good luck with your email, some flunky in the premier's office will no doubt look at it.

 

Like typical Canadians we let the HST slip in hardly noticed until too late. The Ontario Liberal government says it is good for business. Some costs will go down on materials. It is supposed to create jobs....All I know is I had to pay an additional tax to the tune of $700.00 to get my furnace replaced, the fan that drives the AC air seized last week. Did you notice gas went up at the pumps? That was because of the HST. How about alcohol, the price was supposed to drop as GST was removed (HST was not supposed to go against booze), but the LCBO decided to raise prices to negate any savings. Just brutal. Canadians should say enough is enough; we are being taxed to death...... I have already emailed the premier.

[Reddog01 30280]

Your correct General, only GST was charged for furnace purchase and installation before 1 Jul (5%), but as of Jul 1st another 8 % was levied making it 13% total.

 

Quote: Re: "Good luck with your email, some flunky in the premier's office will no doubt look at it".

 

Your right about a flunky giving the email the once over, but if there is a flood of them with the same message like: "ousting the government" maybe some notice will be taken. Probably not, I admit.

[mod 135639]

At the end of the day, we do get a lot of services from the government, some efficient, some not so, but someone has to pay for it. There should be efforts to get rid of the inefficiencies and one may have been the move to the HST. We will see in the long run.

 

Some efficient? The only efficient one I can think of is if you owe them money they are pretty quick to let you know. Oh... And breaking promises they are good at that too and it does not take them long to do that usually either.

 

I don't have the room to list all the inefficiencies.

[whatsup 11893]

You know that 5 cent plastic bag at the supermarket, well it now costs you 6 cents because of the HST.

 

I think we should say to the supermarkets, I do not want any plastic bags just put those little paid for stickers on every item purchased. :-P Imagine the tie ups at the cashes. :twisted:

[pjrd 324]

Good for business ? Make things cheaper in the long run ? all I know is that My customers have to pay 8 percent more for my services. How's that better and how's that going to create jobs ? What a joke. Well at least we can lay off all the provincial sales tax people. As if.

[mod 135639]

Actually a lot of the GST employee's are (or will be) moved into HST collections and such. The government as far as I have been told (By a lady I know who does GST audits) is not laying off any of the GST employee's but instead they will be added to the local PST office and it will all become HST audits and collections.

[ArmitageShanks 100]

Like typical Canadians we let the HST slip in hardly noticed until too late. The Ontario Liberal government says it is good for business. Some costs will go down on materials. It is supposed to create jobs....All I know is I had to pay an additional tax to the tune of $700.00 to get my furnace replaced, the fan that drives the AC air seized last week. Did you notice gas went up at the pumps? That was because of the HST. How about alcohol, the price was supposed to drop as GST was removed (HST was not supposed to go against booze), but the LCBO decided to raise prices to negate any savings. Just brutal. Canadians should say enough is enough; we are being taxed to death...... I have already emailed the premier.

 

A lot of that was just bad luck. Your contractor had to pay PST on the furnace when he bought it from his supplier and that was included in the cost to you. Had he bought it after June 30th he would have paid HST only and claimed that as an input tax credit against HST he charged you. The furnace would have cost him 8% less and that saving should be passed on.

 

My Ontario income tax is going to be reduced and that is good for me. I get no choice on income tax. The HST is a consumption tax and I get to choose to consume or not. We can all change our driving habits and save the 8% that's just been added to gas.

 

The government is going to take it from us somehow and maybe all taxes should be levied when we spend not when we earn!

[pjrd 324]

A lot of that was just bad luck. Your contractor had to pay PST on the furnace when he bought it from his supplier and that was included in the cost to you. Had he bought it after June 30th he would have paid HST only and claimed that as an input tax credit against HST he charged you. The furnace would have cost him 8% less and that saving should be passed on.

The HST combines the two taxes, you're still going to pay 13% It's just a tax grab. Ontario saw how lucrative the GST is when it comes to certain services and wants to cash in. Noboby is going to save 8%

[D-Blue 224]

It's just a tax grab.

 

Read this, understand the personal tax cuts and the new benefits for low income people and then please explain how it's a tax grab.

 

http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/taxchange/families.html

 

It's funny how nobody rants when there's a tax cut but when government changes the way we are taxed everyone gets upset even if they don't understand the big picture.

[Kate von Katz 49953]

The tax cenefits for lower income households only apply to lower income households. The average household (middle to upper class) will be paying more annually. It's a tax grab. But for once, our government is really taking consideration of lower income families/individuals.

 

And for those with cars, the price of gas is a great incentive to get a bus pass or a bike. Save money, save some emissions and get a bit more active.

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[Lowdark 5613]

A) For months the Provincial Government claimed this would not cost people more money in the long run, claiming the Rebate Cheques were a way to ease the adjustment. Some members of the opposition parties had their own economists crunch the numbers but before they could annouce their findings the government claimed they were incorrect and yes, the average family would be paying as much as $600 more per year.

 

B) The underlying premise is that businesses would save money in operating costs and then pass those saving on to customers. The LCBO, owned by the province, increaded their prices to eat up those savings. And some business costs could go up. Shipping costs could go up as transport companies will now have to pay extra for gas and businesses will now have to pay more for their electricity and heat. Those increased costs could potentially eat up those savings are force some bigger companies to loook for ways to make that money back. Like increasing their prices or cutting labour.

 

Lindsay is right when she says that people can (and should) adjust some of their habits to save on some of their consumption, but alas, that could cost jobs in the long run as well. And now Ontario's energy and consumption taxes are obscene enough to scare off foreign investment (one large mining company already left because of the hydro prices, throwing a few hundred people out of work in a Norhtern Ontario community). So the question is, after McGuinty lied about taxes the first time around and burned us with the Health Premium, why did so many people vote for him the second time?

[D-Blue 224]

The tax cenefits for lower income households only apply to lower income households. The average household (middle to upper class) will be paying more annually.

 

Lindsay, the tax cuts benefit all Ontario tax payers, the credits benefit low income households who may not be paying any Ontario tax.

 

The middle to upper income tax payers benefit more from the tax cuts than lower income Ontarians. If they pay more annually it is because they choose to spend money on goods and services that have increased in cost.

 

Additional Comments:

A)

B) The underlying premise is that businesses would save money in operating costs and then pass those saving on to customers. The LCBO, owned by the province, increaded their prices to eat up those savings. And some business costs could go up. Shipping costs could go up as transport companies will now have to pay extra for gas and businesses will now have to pay more for their electricity and heat. Those increased costs could potentially eat up those savings are force some bigger companies to loook for ways to make that money back. Like increasing their prices or cutting labour.

 

 

Transport companies will not pay more for gas. Any HST they pay is deducted from any HST they collect before it is remitted to the government. The same applies to most other increases caused by HST except that there are some restrictions on HST tax credits on utilities for big business for a few years. Any business which generates less than $10m per year will save money because they will no longer pay PST.

[pjrd 324]

Lindsay, the tax cuts benefit all Ontario tax payers, the credits benefit low income households who may not be paying any Ontario tax.

 

The middle to upper income tax payers benefit more from the tax cuts than lower income Ontarians. If they pay more annually it is because they choose to spend money on goods and services that have increased in cost.

 

Additional Comments:

 

 

Transport companies will not pay more for gas. Any HST they pay is deducted from any HST they collect before it is remitted to the government. The same applies to most other increases caused by HST except that there are some restrictions on HST tax credits on utilities for big business for a few years. Any business which generates less than $10m per year will save money because they will no longer pay PST.

 

So the 8% pst I no longer have to pay now becomes part of the 13% hst.Is that saving me money? Well maybe I'm not understanding the HST. All I know is I didn't have to charge my customers PST on my services only on the goods I purchase and 5% GST for the service and now I have to collect 13% for everything. How's that saving anyone money? Taxes and saving money don't even belong in the same sentence. Please correct me if I'm wrong as I havn't sent out any invoices this month and all I got from the government is a little pamflet telling me how wonderful the hst is and that I can send it to the same place I sent their gst.