HST - Should it stay or should it go?
New panel will get to the facts
Would it be better to keep the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) or go back to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) systems?
A newly appointed independent panel plans to find out and then report their findings to British Columbians.
Parliamentary Secretary for HST Information, John Les and Finance Minister, Colin Hansen announced the panel in response to requests from British Columbians who want to make the most informed decision when they head to the polls September 24, 2011 and vote to keep or get rid of the HST.
The panel members are:
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Jim Dinning, former finance minister of Alberta, chair of the Canada West Foundation and chancellor of the University of Calgary. Dinning will chair the panel.
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George Morfitt, former BC Auditor General.
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Tracy Redies, CEO, Coast Capital Savings credit union.
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John Richards, economist and public policy professor, Simon Fraser University.
“Members of the panel understand how important this referendum decision is for British Columbians and the future of the province,” explains Dinning.
The panel will provide a plain-language set of facts by the first week of April 2011.
Terms of Reference for the panel and more information are available on the HST website at www.hstinbc.ca.