Published: March 09, 2010

If the provincial government wants a harmonized sales tax (H.S.T), it’ll have to go through Bill Vander Zalm first.

The former Premier is in Merritt today (Wednesday, Feb. 10) to launch his anti-H.S.T. speaking campaign and drum up tax-fighting volunteers through the Interior and Northern British Columbia. He will be the guest speaker at the Merritt Chamber of Commerce Annual General Meeting.

The provincial government has announced the H.S.T. will begin July 1, 2010. The provincial sales tax will be eliminated, and replaced by a single federal value-added tax of 12 per cent, essentially a bigger G.S.T. that equals the federal and provincial taxes combined. The big difference will be that most of the items that are taxable by the G.S.T. are included under the new 12 per cent, even those items that used to be P.S.T.-free. A few items such as gas, books, and children’s clothes will get a P.S.T. rebate at the check-out.

“It’s a pretty hefty consumer tax,” Vander Zalm said Friday. “So a lot of seniors, and people on lower, fixed and middle incomes will pay the bill.” Vander Zalm estimates the cost will be $500 per person.

A family of four, by his numbers, would face a $2,000 tax increase at the till each year.

“For a normal family, that’s a hard hit, and for a senior couple, you are looking at $1,000 a year.”

In last week’s budget, provincial finance minister Colin Hansen announced that money earned from the tax would go into health care. Vander Zalm says that first of all, even if that were the case, it’s a shell game, since all the money comes from the same pot.

“It goes into general revenue,” he said, adding that the tax was advertised as “revenue neutral” anyway. “It’s a bit of a con.”

The H.S.T. benefits heavy industries, oil and gas, mining, forestry, and any businesses making large capital purchases, with the hope that these businesses will pass some of money savings onto their customers through lower prices.

However, the tax will hurt smaller business, and may push some businesses and services to seek untaxable cash payments from their customers.

“There’s going to be a large underground economy,” he said.

“It has already happened in Europe. Some places, the underground economy is as big as the real economy.”

Vander Zalm is also concerned that the federal government will gain control over the province’s constitutional right to tax.

“We are becoming like a municipality.

Speaking at the local Chamber AGM on the issue may seem ironic, since the B.C. Chamber of Commerce is officially in favour of the tax, however, Vander Zalm notes, “we can’t find too many chamber members that support the H.S.T.”

Vander Zalm has been given the green light by Elections B.C. to lead an initiative to end the tax. Under provincial law, he must collect 10 per cent of the voters’ signatures throughout B.C. to force the government to reconsider the law.

April 6 is the start of the 90 day period to collect signatures, and the former Premier is seeking volunteers in droves.

So far, he has 2,000 volunteers lined up, but hopes to gather 5,000 canvassers to go door to door and collect signatures against the tax. To volunteer or for information, those interested can visit www.fightHST.com