The B.C. Government claims that a Harmonized Sales Tax will in fact have a positive impact on the restaurant industry. The HST will purportedly save small and medium size business approximately $2 billion in business costs, savings which, in turn, can be passed to the consumer.

How does this work?
Currently with the embedded PST system businesses are paying taxes on most of their inputs that go into producing their goods or service. These embedded taxes are factored in to the price consumers pay on the final product or service.

We have received a lot of emails asking for a comprehensive list of HST exemptions in Ontario, so here it is. The following is from the Ontario Ministry of Revenue website.

“Fed Up Yet” is the tagline for nomealtax.ca, an anti-HST website which is gaining momentum and significant media coverage. McDonald’s and Tim Horton’s are supporting the initiative by displaying posters and leaving the HST petition on their counters for anyone to sign. As of today, they have collected over 60,000 signatures!