anti-HST race begins

And so it began on April 6th and from the looks of things here in Nanaimo the anti-HST group should get the required 10% of electoral signatures it needs on the petitions. Please I urge anyone reading this to pass the word to get out and sign the petition or sign it when the group starts canvassing door to door. I'm not going to write too much about this as with a minimum of research one can readily find out what a bad idea the HST is. Check out my previous post in the Labels (HST) to the left for a bit more info.

The reality for the common person is many of the little things we enjoy will be taxed. While those of us with jobs might not see the immediate effect it will effect us nonetheless. The people it will impact most are the poor and while the Liberal (ultra conservative) government says there will be an HST rebate you can gaurantee that it will not cover what people pay into it. In todays paper it was just announced that Nanaimo's unemployment rate has hit 8.9% Nanaimo's unemployment rate up . I would add at least 1 or 2% more to that to get a more realistic figure. Add to that the large number of people on fixed pensions and the numbers skyrocket.

If you want to get an idea of how much it will cost you or your family check out this HST Calculator HST Calculator .

Here are links to some of the latest stories in the Nanaimo Rags about the HST and I will attempt to add more as they will no doubt come along. Following these links is a list of items which will be taxed at the higher rate.

Nanaimo Daily News:
March 31HST bill called political suicide , April 5 Walter Cordery: Tax rebel opposes HST, April 9 Canvassers out for anti-HST signatures , April 10 Residents line up to sign anti-HST petition , April 12 After 2 days local anti-HST petition is nearly 50% complete

Nanaimo Bulletin:
April 6 Anti-HST petition drive begins

HST applicable items:
Accounting, Admission Fees, Airline Tickets, Animal Feed, Architects, Bicycles, Beverages, Bus Fares, Cable TV, Campgrounds, Car Repairs & Maintenance Chinese Medicine, Coffee shops, Concert Tickets, Consulting Services, Dry CleaningFirst Aid Kits, Fishing Charter, Funeral Services, Golf Fees, Hair Cuts, Health Equipment, Helmets, Hockey Tickets, Home Renovations, Insulation, InternetLife Jackets, Magazines, Marketing services, Membership Fees, Massage Therapy, Moorage, Movies, Music Lessons, Naturopathy, New Homes, Newspapers, Non Prescription Meds, Painting, Parking, Photography, Physiotherapy, Prepared Foods, Real Estate Fees, Reflexology, Rents, Restaurants Meals, Resort Packages, RV ParksSafety Equipment, School Supplies, Skiing, Smoke Detectors, Solar Power, Spa Services, Storage Lockers, Taxi Fares, Telephone Bills, Theatre Tickets, Trade & Gift Show Fees, Veterinarian/Pets, Vitamins