BC Budget

[Harbinger]

Because it was not a possibility as has been clearly set out by myself and RUPERTKBD?

[Wetcoaster]

They didn't put it in their platform because they simply didn't want it to be something that they would have had to defend in the platform. You can dress it up however you like but the facts are evident about what was going on previous to the election.

http://www.cbc.ca/ne...-documents.html

[Harbinger]

BC had been talking about HST for years with the feds but before the election no decision was made when they were given a short fuse offer to get on board with the same deal as Ontario had signed.

The documents also appear to support, however, B.C. Finance Minister Colin Hansen's assertions that the Liberal government did not actually decide to bring in the new tax until bureaucrats briefed him on the province's financial future after the May 2009 election.

...

On April 26, during the election campaign, the Liberal Party was asked in a questionnaire from the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservice Association, "Will your party oppose harmonizing GST with PST in British Columbia?"

The party official response was "…A harmonized GST is not something that is contemplated in the B.C. Liberal platform, but we are committed to improving the tax system."

So the HST was not an issue in the election nor part of the Liberal election platform.

[Wetcoaster]

Of course it wasn't part of the platform why would you tell the people of the province your intentions were to discard two taxes so that they could offer a more punitive tax to cover them both. This had nothing to do with what was best for British Columbians it only had to do with shifting tax burden from businesses to british columbians and to cut a bigger swath for gaining taxes. I have no problem in a raise in tax. I have a problem in doing it on the backs of the poor rather than the rich. Which this did significantly.. I also have a problem in taking a 1.6 billion dollars as a bribe to do it.

[Harbinger]

It was not done on the backs of the poor as has been pointed out clearly.

[Wetcoaster]

That's exactly who is being punished by having to pay more of the day to day necessities.

[Harbinger]

That is why there was the BC HST credit based on income so they poor were buffered against the changes.

[Wetcoaster]

Rebate cheques are the most useless way of helping people there possibily is. Might as well have done nothing at all.

[heysoulsisters21]

RCMP frontline policing budget gets an additional $52 million over three years.

An additional $5 million to fund enhanced treatment, counselling and prevention services to address problem gambling.

Hmmmmmmm ???

[DonLever]

According to a Ipsos Reid about the budget, 12% believe the budget will be balanced. Only 11% will be more likely to vote for Christy Clark.

Amazingly, 44% of respondents believed the budget under the NDP would be worse. Only 28% believe the budget under the NDP will be better.

http://www.globaltvb...4142/story.html

Not exactly a ringing endorsement of the NDP.

[inane]

According to a Ipsos Reid about the budget, 12% believe the budget will be balanced. Only 11% will be more likely to vote for Christy Clark.

Amazingly, 44% of respondents believed the budget under the NDP would be worse. Only 28% believe the budget under the NDP will be better.

http://www.globaltvb...4142/story.html

Not exactly a ringing endorsement of the NDP.

[ahzdeen]

That's exactly who is being punished by having to pay more of the day to day necessities.

[aGENT]

That's exactly who is being punished by having to pay more of the day to day necessities.

[Wetcoaster]

I'm far from a Liberal supporter but that's simply not true. Under the HST, the people who would have paid more were the middle/upper middle class and the rich.

-The Liberals botched the launch of and then failed miserably at selling the very real benefits of HST. That's where they're guilty.

-The NDP conspired with VZ on a false propaganda campaign to defeat the HST as a political party battle not a noble "for the people one.

It's sad that people here are arguing about these two parties like either one of them deserves your vote. One was arrogant and incompetent. The other underhanded and self serving. Why are any of you defending/supporting either of them?

[thedestroyerofworlds]

I am not pro-BC Liberal so much as I am anti BC NDP having seen the damage wrought by prior BC Dipper governments.

[Wetcoaster]

I love how Anti- NDP ers say that they brought all this damage to BC. I have yet to see economic data that supports this (ie. the NDP era was significantly worse than the Lib era).

Was the NDP responsible for the closure of the coal mines in Tumbler Ridge, and the Libs for their reopening? The answer is NO, coal prices were. The NDP era was full of stagnant/falling prices for resources like coal, gold, etc and the Lib era was full of these prices going through the roof. Since our economy has a significant portion based in the resource sector, what kind of effect do you think this had. Closed mines, reduced production, reduced expansion, reduced exploration during the NPD. The opposite during the Libs. I'll grant the Libs for reducing the red tape, but it is prices that ultimately gets the ball rolling.

[inane]

blah blah blah, same old.

And never any discussion about issues like the environment--a price we'll pay in the long term no doubt.

[nucklehead]

BC Bud...get

[Langdon Algur]

BC had been talking about HST for years with the feds but before the election no decision was made when they were given a short fuse offer to get on board with the same deal as Ontario had signed.

The documents also appear to support, however, B.C. Finance Minister Colin Hansen's assertions that the Liberal government did not actually decide to bring in the new tax until bureaucrats briefed him on the province's financial future after the May 2009 election.

...

On April 26, during the election campaign, the Liberal Party was asked in a questionnaire from the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservice Association, "Will your party oppose harmonizing GST with PST in British Columbia?"

The party official response was "…A harmonized GST is not something that is contemplated in the B.C. Liberal platform, but we are committed to improving the tax system."

So the HST was not an issue in the election nor part of the Liberal election platform.

[Wetcoaster]

So if they were talking about the HST for years with the Feds are were supportive of the tax with federal help then why didn't they say that when asked pre-election? Instead the Fiberials said they had no plans to bring in the HST at all. All they had to say is they think the tax is a good idea but would only bring it in with Federal help, instead they said they had no plans to bring in the HST then brought it in, how does that not look fishy?