Voters' decision to get rid of the HST drew a range of reaction from Prince George businesses today - ranging from outright celebration to indifference to a tinge of disappointment.
Restaurants raised an especially large storm of protest when tax was first announced because it added seven per cent to each bill and Carmel Family Restaurant owner Bronwyn Steward won't be disappointed when it's gone in about 18 months.
"The HST has been kind of a downfall on all of the restaurant businesses," said Steward, adding her customers noticed the hike when the measure came into effect 19 months ago.
"There were not a lot of happy people," Steward said.
Mr. Jake's owner Alex Maritsas said the HST did not noticeably affect traffic into his restaurant, saying the popularity of his food simply was more than enough to overcome the tax hike.
But he won't miss it when it's gone.
"Who wants it?" Maritsas said.
Nancy O's owner Garrett Fedorkiw had mixed feelings saying it will make meals less expensive, "but I think that's quite a narrow looking focus."
"If you expand it to the whole economy, I don't know, I think the HST was better for the economy," he continued.
North 54 manager Theresa Oliveira said the HST had no effect on her restaurant. Business was actually more brisk in July 2010, when it was first introduced, than during the same month the year before.
"But, the people who come to our restaurant, they come because they know what to expect, so the impact is not a problem for them," Oliveira said.
Provided the provincial government lives up to its promise to return the old GST-PST model, complete with the previous exemptions, including those for bikes and bike accessories, Ruckus Ski Boards and Bikes owner Stephanie Turnphour welcomed the news.
"It saves myself and my customers from the one tax and it also encourages environmentally-friendly transportation," Turnphour said.
Looking at automobile sales, Prince George Motors sales manager Dexter Tabora said the return to the GST-PST format will mean a return to exempting the provincial portion from private sales.
But he doubts it will have much affect on the dealerships saying there is an element of buyer beware purchasers must face in private sales whereas used cars at dealership must meet certain levels for safety and condition.
"The biggest effect will be for the consumers themselves, not for the businesses," Tabora said.
As for the city's real estate scene, B.C. Northern Real Estate Board director Joni Brown said it will be "business as usual."
"For us, it's not going to be that big of a change," Brown said. "People will pay a bit less on the commission and for brand new homes, they had to be over a certain price before the HST really got nasty and houses in Prince George were really below that."
Prince George Home Builders Association past-president Allen Creuzot said he's spent a lot of time trying to explain to customers how they actually come out ahead because of the HST. The HST was a good tax from an administrative perspective but proved a headache when it came to addressing customers' concerns about the tax.
"It's kind of bittersweet," Creuzot said. "On one end it's a good system, on the other it might not be but going back to the old system, everybody knew [how it works], so it might have better perception for the customers."
