HST tour stops at the Town Crier

[attach]1375[/attach]Ontario’s minister of revenue John Wilkinson stopped by the Town Crier offices on March 1 as part of a province-wide tour with all of the gusto of any serious political campaign.

Wilkinson’s mission: to answer the remaining questions and concerns held by Ontarians regarding the upcoming switch to HST.

“There’s a lot of misinformation out there about what is going to be taxed and what isn’t,” he said. “It’s not something that can fit into a quick little sound bite.”

Wilkinson said that this will be the largest tax reform in our province in over 40 years, and that the time has come.

“We need a tax system for the 21st century,” he said.

The minister outlined what the Liberals have been trumpeting all along, findings that were echoed in an independent report released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in December entitled “Not a Tax Grab After All.”

He says that some 83 percent of the items Ontarian buy will not be affected by the change in tax systems, including groceries, medicines and footwear.

Where people will really notice the difference is in any price that is presently subject to only GST, not PST. The five percent GST that is currently added to energy and service prices will jump to 13 percent tax when the change takes effect on July 1. Gas, home heating and service fees, like haircuts and taxi rides, will all go up.

In order to offset the higher costs to consumers, the government lowered income taxes, started this past January, especially for those with little disposable income, including families with many children, seniors and those earning the least.

As of July, Ontarians will have the lowest income taxes in the country.

This is in addition to $4.3 billion from the federal government to be distributed to tax payers in the form of higher tax rebates doled out in three payments. Single people making less than $80,000 per year will receive $300, while families will receive $1000, with the first cheques arriving in June.

In the end, said Wilkinson, the difference felt by most people will be around $50 annually either way and at great benefit to the province’s economy.

The reshuffling of the tax system, Wilkinson said, will result in a much more attractive climate for business, and could generate almost 600,000 jobs over the coming decade.

For more info see [url]www.ontario.ca/taxchange.[/url]