I may be chiming in a little late, but I thought that I would share my thoughts in brief.
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I do not have a comprehensive understanding of the HST. When it comes to policy and politics, most people react with emotion and then create reason to match it. You can be the judge in this case.
Presumably, good reasons exist for instituting the HST in BC and Ontario -- such as potentially reducing the financial burden on the poor. I will leave that debate for others.
However, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure (a MVB motive operandum).
And, with that, the following is ignorant, laughable, and, as far as I can figure, inexcusable:
1. HST will be applied to bicycles and cycling equipment.
2. HST will be applied to kids' summer camps.
3. The GST portion of the HST will NO LONGER be applied to gas and diesel fuel, as it currently is.
(4. More contentiously, the PST portion of the HST will NOT be applied to fast food purchases under $4.)
Huh? Come again?
The BC Government calls BC 'The Best Place On Earth' (which I find embarrassing), and the following are key initiatives of theirs to make our futures better:
1. Building the Future With Clean, Sustainable Energy
2. Building the Future in Green Communities
3. Building the Future For Healthy Living
Huh? Come again?
Price is a major determinant of consumer choice. This means that the HST, to varying degrees, encourages driving and fast food eating, while discouraging cycling and active, social developmental opportunities for children.
In addition to that, the government is missing the boat on saving huge amounts of health care money via preventative active living and positive developmental opportunities.
This makes no sense, particularly for the Best Place on Earth.
The provincial and federal taxation structure should should be reformed in order to stimulate preventative behaviours that have economic, environmental, social, and health benefits not only for individuals but also for the province/country as a whole.
How? Well, as broad, oversimplified examples:
- reduce taxes on and/or subsidize cycling and other forms of clean, active transport
- increase taxes (more) on driving and gasoline
- reduce taxes on and/or subsidize healthy eating
- increase taxes on junk food
Unfortunately, the government seems to be too short-sighted to make actual policy changes that have long-term effects; they are, however, good at naming initiatives that convey foresight. And (or?), us voters are too trigger happy for instant gratifications like lowered income tax and tax credits.
If an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, then the HST is far from what it should be, and that's not good enough.
2 comments:
Raising taxes on gas won't help poor people.
The way Victoria is laid out now, alot of people must drive to work, or wherever, and you can't punish them for that.
Change Victoria into a bike-friendly place FIRST, and THEN introduce higher gas taxes.
Poor people drive far less than wealthier people, across the board/country/world, which is one of the reasons that transportation funding is so inequitable.
If more funds were put towards active methods (including public transit), then that would benefit the poor -- and everyone else.
Bike-friendliness comes in numbers, attitude, and bike-friendly 'culture', just as much as it comes in infrastructure.
Higher gas taxes will be one more way of encouraging more cycling which will in turn make the city more bike-friendly which will in turn not 'punish' people for not driving. It will reward them not to.
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Two things:
1) A lot of discussion about this site happens on facebook; so, I would recommend finding the site (link on the right sidebar) and me there.
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Being 'anonymous' is pretty lame, so at least make up a fake name to use.