Initiatives Prince George Development Corp. has signed up with the Smart Tax Alliance, which in an open letter this week to all the province's MLAs, is calling on the government to stay the course on the HST that came into effect on Thursday.
The B.C. Liberal government is facing a challenge from an anti-HST campaign, led by former B.C. premier Bill Vander Zalm, which says it has collected more than 700,000 names in a petition calling for the HST to be rescinded. The anti-HST forces have also come up with a "hit list" of Liberal MLAs they may target with recalls if the HST is not reversed, including Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Pat Bell and Nechako Lake MLA John Rustad.
IPG joins 29 other business groups who form the alliance, including the B.C. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Council of B.C., the Council of Forest Industries, the B.C. Trucking Association and the Mining Association of B.C.
IPG is the only municipal-level organization that is part of the alliance.
"Our support flows from our previous position that we support the HST on policy grounds," Initiatives Prince George CEO Tim McEwan said Wednesday. "It will be beneficial for our export-based economy in Prince George and the North."
(IPG board chair Clint Dahl also stressed the board is "fully supportive" of the HST).
McEwan penned a column in The Citizen five months ago laying out IPG's support for the HST.
McEwan noted that IPG has not made any financial contributions to the Smart Tax Alliance, and will not be in the future. He said IPG is simply lending its name to support the alliance.
The Smart Tax Alliance is also planning to launch a marketing campaign touting the business benefits of the HST. B.C. Chamber of Commerce president John Winters said they will be looking for contributions to support that campaign.
Some of the members of the Smart Tax Alliance are also backing an application to the B.C. Supreme Court to test the validity of the anti-HST petition. Initiatives Prince George is not among the smaller group backing the court challenge, which includes the Council of Forest Industries and the Mining Association of B.C.
Winters said the Smart Tax Alliance and the court challenge are separate initiatives.
Council of Forest Industries president John Allan said they are supporting the court challenge because they are seeking business certainty, not because they are trying to stand in the way of the "will of the people."
He said they want a simple question answered - whether the petition is valid. Initiatives are meant to deal only with provincial legislation, and Allan said they believe that the petition strays into federal jurisdiction.
The B.C. Liberal government has estimated that the HST will save the forest sector $140 million a year.
Anti-HST northern B.C. campaigner Mike Summers said he believes the lawsuit is a frivolous delaying tactic. He said he is not concerned the lawsuit will succeed, but said it will be costly to fight the court action. "They're trying to bleed us by taking it to court. That's unfortunate," said Summers, who said they will be asking for donations to cover the court challenge.
callout:
Callout
- The 12 per cent harmonized sales tax - which came into effect July 1 - replaces the federal five per cent GST and the provincial seven per cent sales tax.
- The change will mean consumers will pay the provincial seven per cent portion of the HST on some new items including meals, airline tickets, funerals, haircuts and new homes over $400,000.
- There are some exemptions on the provincial portion of the tax including gasoline, children's clothing and diapers. As well, items that are currently GST exempt, such as basic groceries, will not be subject to the HST.
- The B.C. Liberal government says introducing the HST is the single biggest action the government can take to boost the ailing economy. The Liberals say the savings from the HST to the business sector - including the forestry, mining, and oil and gas sectors - is estimated at $2 billion which will be reinvested in the economy and passed on to consumers.
- Opponents say the HST is a huge tax burden shift onto the backs of workers, professionals, students, businesses, and the elderly.
