Former-premier Bill Vander Zalm will be making his case against the harmonized sales tax on Thursday evening at UNBC, part of the B.C. government-sponsored public information sessions in the lead up to a referendum vote next month.
The mail-in ballot will determine whether the HST stays or the province returns to its former tax system, including a provincial sales tax (PST) and a goods and service tax (GST).
The session at UNBC's Canfor Theatre is scheduled from 7:30 to 9 p.m., and is open to the public.
Vander Zalm will be joined by Chris Delaney, also a leading member of the Fight HST contingent. On the other side, tax lawyer David Robertson and Dan McLaren, of Prince George-based Commonwealth Financial, will be arguing in favour of the HST for the Smart Tax Alliance.
Recent polling by Ipsos Reid shows those arguing in favour of the HST have an uphill battle. Just more than one third were in favour of keeping the HST in the poll results released last week, while more than half were in favour of removing the HST and returning to the former tax system.
Robertson, a lawyer with Fasken Martineau in Vancouver, says he decided to get out from behind his desk because he believes there is a lot of misinformation being peddled about the HST.
Robertson said his biggest beef is the anti-HST side's argument that the HST will hurt those with low incomes. Robertson argues that low-income earners will be better off under the HST because $230 tax rebates available to family members offset increases under the HST, which add the seven per cent PST to some new items.
He also argues that the HST is good for small business, which didn't benefit from tax exemptions for machinery and equipment under the former PST system.
"I'm looking forward to being able to answer people's questions, and I'm looking forward to have an opportunity to try and clarify, to explain this," said Robertson.
The Fight HST group has argued the HST hurts the those who can afford it the least, such as seniors on fixed incomes.
Delaney said they welcome the forums at universities and colleges, saying they do not have the money the government or industry can spend on their information campaigns. The B.C. Liberal government set aside $500,000 to host the forums, which was split between the Fight HST and Smart Tax Alliance groups.
It's part of a $1.7 million provincial information campaign. The B.C. Liberals are also spending $5 million on an advertising campaign that encourages people to learn more about the HST before voting.
"I think it is always a good idea to give people direct information so they can make up their minds," said Delaney, who likes the chances of defeating the HST in the referendum vote.
The Liberals introduced the tax last year, which created an outcry from the public, and the resignation of Premier Gordon Campbell half way through his third term.
New Liberal Premier Christy Clark has said she will be introducing planned bold changes to the HST soon, perhaps as early as today, meant to make it more palatable to the public in advance of the vote.
Said Delaney: "It's an admission we've been right all along -- that it is a tax grab."
- Each side in the referendum vote -- Fight HST and the Smart Tax Alliance -- will have the chance to present their positions and respond to questions from forum participants.
- Fight HST is a group led by former-premier Bill Vander Zalm, B.C. First Party official Chris Delaney and Bill Tieleman, a commentator who worked in the office of NDP Premier Glen Clark.
- The Smart Tax Alliance is a group of 39 businesses and business group which support the HST. Among them are the Mining Association of B.C., the Council of Forest Industries and Initiatives Prince George, the city's economic development agency.
- The two sides are allowed 10-minute opening presentations and five-minute rebuttals, which will be followed by questions from the audience.
- If you can't attend in person, you can watch this event live at www.hstpublicforums.ca and participate in an online forum, on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/HSTForums) and on Twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/hstforums).
