What Are They Thinking ???

The CORPORATE INTERESTS....

Ontario opposition high to harmonized tax, poll suggests


By Jordana Huber , Canwest News ServiceSeptember 23, 2009



TORONTO — Polling conducted in the spring by the Ontario government found nearly 70 per cent of respondents were opposed to the province's tax harmonization plan.

The post-budget poll — which has a large margin of error — of 200 people was conducted for the Ministry of Finance at the end of March. It shows 68 per cent were opposed to a single sales tax that would apply to goods and services previously exempt from the provincial sales tax.

The survey was obtained by the NDP under the Freedom of Information Act.

The new tax is scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2010.

"One can only imagine what the numbers would look like if Ontarians were told the HST will kill up to 40,000 jobs each year," NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said during Question Period.

Conservative Leader Tim Hudak said the poll reflects what he has been hearing from Ontarians across the province.

"It's an unaffordable tax increase on the backs of middle class families and seniors," Hudak said.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said the government doesn't govern by polls and the single most important way to strengthen the economy is to move ahead with a harmonized sales tax.

"We are not moving ahead with the HST because of the ground swell of support for it. We're doing it because it's going to put Ontario at the forefront in North America," McGuinty said.

The new HST, which blends the eight per cent provincial sales tax with the five per cent GST, will raise the cost of a range of items previously exempted from the PST, including gas, hydro bills, hair cuts and newspaper subscriptions.

On Wednesday, a coalition of business leaders announced the formation of the Smart Tax Alliance to promote the "positive benefits of sales tax harmonization."

"The tax rate on business investment in Ontario has put us at a disadvantage next to our peer jurisdictions in the U.S. and Canada, and it must urgently be addressed," Len Crispino, President & CEO of the Ontario Chamber of
Commerce said in a statement.

"If we are expected to be a magnet for investment and innovation in this province, we must move ahead with the tax reforms, most importantly, sales tax harmonization."

The poll has a margin of error of 6.7 per cent 19 times out of 20.

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