tax

The unpopularity of harmonized sales tax (HST) arises almost entirely because the PST has a long list of exempted items that will now have the PST added to the existing GST.

Here in B.C., the most vocal opposition comes from the tourism and restaurant sectors, already hard hit by the recession and higher dollar. Accommodation will be protected by an offsetting elimination of the hotel tax, but services such as domestic air travel, hair care, dry cleaning, accounting and even funerals will be subject to the additional 7 per cent. New-home buyers will pay the tax on purchases over $400,000 and all homeowners will see the HST applied to cable, telephone, gardening, repairs, renovations and heating fuels.

A recent headline in the Victoria Times Colonist captured the public’s reaction: “HST slams into wall of opposition .” An Ipsos Reid survey found that 85 per cent of respondents opposed the July 1, 2010, HST implementation. And critics’ mischievous portrayal of the move as bailing out big business on the backs of consumers seems to be a dream wedge issue for the Opposition New Democrats.

It’s not that Liberal Premier Campbell couldn’t have anticipated the reaction: Mr. McGuinty has endured similar opposition since Ontario announced sales tax harmonization in May.

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While the oil sands business remains challenging because of low oil prices, business conditions are improving thanks to lower costs, more productive labour and hungrier service providers, developers said at an investment conference Wednesday.

“The big change we have seen as an operator is that (staff) turnover is way down,” said Christopher Slubicki, CEO of OPTI Canada Inc., a partner in the Long Lake oil sands project, which is ramping up production at its recently completed first phase.

“We have our people. We are keeping our people. So, our productivity and our performance are improving with the workforce we have, which is much more constant compared to the turnover we had during the construction phase, when everybody was building,” Mr. Slubicki said on the sidelines of a conference on unconventional oil organized by TD Newcrest.

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