The deadline is fast approaching to provide input to a B.C. government-appointed panel that is putting together an analysis of the harmonized sales compared to returning to the province's former tax system.
The last day to provide input is Friday.
Submissions can be sent electronically to submissions@bchstinfo.ca, or faxed to 604 775-0727.
The four-person panel led by former Alberta finance minister Jim Dinning is set to report their findings ahead of a planned referendum on the HST.
The panel will deliver a final report to the public by the first week of April.
Prince George-Valemount Liberal MLA Shirley Bond put out a notice Wednesday to remind people of the input deadline.
"It is really important that voters receive an independent, expert assessment of the HST and other options in order to make an informed decision," said Bond in her notice. "In order to provide this information, the panel needs to hear how the HST has impacted your lives. It would also like to know how a return to the PST system would impact your business or sector," said Bond.
The 12 per cent harmonized sales tax, which came into effect July 1, replaced the federal five per cent GST and the provincial seven per cent sales tax. Its introduction caused a public furor, and, in part, led to the resignation of Premier Gordon Campbell half way into his third term.
While the HST referendum is scheduled for September, premier-designate Christy Clark has said she will move up the vote to June 24.
Other panel members include former B.C. Auditor General George Morfitt, Coast Capital Savings CEO Tracy Redies, and Simon Fraser University professor John Richards.
Removing the HST has implications, as it would likely mean B.C. would have to pay back $1.6 billion to Ottawa, as well as the cost of any bureaucracy changes.
The B.C. Liberal government decided to move to a referendum after anti-HST forces led by former-B.C. premier Bill Vander Zalm launched a successful initiative petition that gathered more than 700,000 signatures provincewide.
The introduction of the HST means consumers pay the provincial seven per cent portion of the HST on some new items including meals, domestic airline tickets, funerals, haircuts and new homes over $525,000.
The B.C. Liberal government argued introducing the HST was the single biggest action the government could take to boost the ailing economy. The Liberals say the $2-billion savings from the HST to the business sector will be reinvested in the economy and passed on to consumers.
