After BC residents rejected the HST in the provincial referendum held in August, the provincial government warned that residents would be on the hook for the $1.6 billion advanced to the province by the federal government. According to the contract between Ottawa and BC if the province would have implemented and maintained the HST system for a minimum of two years, the $1.6 billion given to pay out HST rebates and implement the system would not need to be repaid. However, with BC residents opting to reject the system earlier …

Since the implementation of the HST in British Columbia in 2010, the provincial housing market has been reportedly in a slump. This has been especially true in Vancouver and area as new builds are sitting vacant longer than expected.
According to recent reports, construction companies are resorting to making deals with potential buyers, offering to pay a portion of the HST that is being added to properties costing more than $525,000. While this is helping to persuade new home buyers, the builders and developers are ultimately losing money.
Construction companies are frustrated …

The HST is a combined rate of 12% in the province of B.C. The province harmonized the tax officially on July 1, 2010 combining the 5% G.S.T. with the 7% Provincial Sales Tax to form the HST. This rate is lower than Ontario’s 13%, Newfoundland/New Brunswick’s 13% and Nova Scotia’s rate of 15%.  The HST was implemented in hopes that the streamlined system would attract business investors, be a long-term solution for the formerly tedious PST/GST system and move the province into a more modern approach to taxation systems.
It is …