HST referendum results in B.C.

[SledMamma]

As a new resident of BC, I can say that your government and all your silly taxes are really starting to kill me. Everyone keeps saying that it is cheaper to live in BC, but I haven't figured out where... Nearly $8,000 for Property Transfer Tax that would have been $600 in Alberta. House insurance doubled. PST on EVERYTHING. Retail prices aren't cheaper than Alberta and groceries are the same if not MORE than where we came from. Oh, and then there is BC Medical and all the inspection fees to change over our brand new vehicles to BC insurance... WTF??? Furthermore, the paperwork and bureaucracy at every turn is unbelievable. I swear all your tax money just goes to buying trees to make paper so we can fill out every form in triplicate, and then have it notarized at a lawyers!!

And now, the province owes a billion and change to the government based on a "55%" minority vote to go back the way things were with HST vs PST/GST??? And the hits just keep on coming!!! I'm just waiting for a welcome letter from your commie government that says: "Welcome to BC, thank you for bringing your income and paying more tax... Bend over and cough, we are not quite finished here". I think I am going to take up drinking mojitos on a full-time basis so I can stomach all this British Columbia B.S.

I did find this link on Facebook: kind of an interesting article in the post HST aftermath: Scrapped B.C. HST will mean consumer savings - British Columbia - CBC News

That's the end of my rant!! On the up side: my new home is beautiful, the air is crisp and I can see the mountains from my house

 

[leadfoot33]

haha gotta love bc isnt it great . glen i think i am going to have to come see you this winter and try out one of your sleds that are clutched and compare to my new to me 09

 

[glengine]

haha gotta love bc isnt it great . glen i think i am going to have to come see you this winter and try out one of your sleds that are clutched and compare to my new to me 09

You bet.

 

[btcowboy]

As a new resident of BC, I can say that your government and all your silly taxes are really starting to kill me. Everyone keeps saying that it is cheaper to live in BC, but I haven't figured out where... Nearly $8,000 for Property Transfer Tax that would have been $600 in Alberta. House insurance doubled. PST on EVERYTHING. Retail prices aren't cheaper than Alberta and groceries are the same if not MORE than where we came from. Oh, and then there is BC Medical and all the inspection fees to change over our brand new vehicles to BC insurance... WTF??? Furthermore, the paperwork and bureaucracy at every turn is unbelievable. I swear all your tax money just goes to buying trees to make paper so we can fill out every form in triplicate, and then have it notarized at a lawyers!!

And now, the province owes a billion and change to the government based on a "55%" minority vote to go back the way things were with HST vs PST/GST??? And the hits just keep on coming!!! I'm just waiting for a welcome letter from your commie government that says: "Welcome to BC, thank you for bringing your income and paying more tax... Bend over and cough, we are not quite finished here". I think I am going to take up drinking mojitos on a full-time basis so I can stomach all this British Columbia B.S.

I did find this link on Facebook: kind of an interesting article in the post HST aftermath: Scrapped B.C. HST will mean consumer savings - British Columbia - CBC News

That's the end of my rant!! On the up side: my new home is beautiful, the air is crisp and I can see the mountains from my house

Same boat here SledMamma, what a rigamarol to get everything set up it is expensive as heck and I came out here from Fort Mcmurray so that says something. I love where I live and wouldnt dream of changing it. As for the yahoos who voted this way, you save 1-2% and are going to pay way more than that to pay back the feds..... BC = Bring Cash I think some of the residents are the cause of that (welfare, etc).... I had hoped to find work at home, but looks like due to the economy i will have to continue working in Alberta to afford the lifestyle I do enjoy

 

[ferniesnow]

I like looking out the window at the beauty; the snow, the mountains, the acres of forest, the clear clean rivers/lakes......the Best Place on Earth!!

But, I also like the fact that I am 45 minutes from Alberta for cheaper gas (12-18 cents/litre), sometimes cheaper groceries, cheaper restaurant meals, cheaper sleds/quads, cheaper clothes, etc. and to top it off not that far from the other border (enough said or I may get a little static about not shopping in Canada).

It is what it is and one has to make the best of it. I don't buy a lot of personal items in BC and can't remember when the last time I ate at a restaurant in BC (probably in June of 2010).....friggin' taxes!!

 

[Got boost want snow]

I'm glad I live where I do, on most days I can see the mountains from town, only a 2 hr drive to the mountains and I have a camp out there. Cheaper gas, cheaper insurance. I do like to visit but glad I don't live there.

 

[Got boost want snow]

And jobs with decent pay are plentiful.

 

[S.W.A.T.]

2hr drive to mountains, way to far. Over night trips to go sledding/quading, i would quit. All done from my door step. No one has trouble knocking down BC for "high tax" or other expenses. Take a running poll to see how much tourist dollars BC brings in a year compared to Alberta's. I was totally in favour of HST but can't win them all. PST is just the Price for Staying There.

I know this comment will get some good reviews.

Alberta the 51st state.

 

[ferniesnow]

2hr drive to mountains, way to far. Over night trips to go sledding/quading, i would quit. All done from my door step. No one has trouble knocking down BC for "high tax" or other expenses. Take a running poll to see how much tourist dollars BC brings in a year compared to Alberta's. I was totally in favour of HST but can't win them all. PST is just the Price for Staying There.

I know this comment will get some good reviews.

Alberta the 51st state.
View attachment 108885

thank heavens we have Albertans who can afford to bring in those tourist dollars......don't knock our fine eastern neighbors as I'm sure they have sent in the majority of letters to help the Revy cause.....

 

[Got boost want snow]

A province cannot survive on tourism alone, and like was stated, alot of the tourism dollars into BC are from your neighbors to the east. I wish the mountains were less than 2hrs on a bush road but I would never quit just because I had to drive to sled. It really is to bad the government can't get their sh!t together and quit screwing the taxpayers.

 

[ferniesnow]

A province cannot survive on tourism alone, and like was stated, alot of the tourism dollars into BC are from your neighbors to the east. I wish the mountains were less than 2hrs on a bush road but I would never quit just because I had to drive to sled. It really is to bad the government can't get their sh!t together and quit screwing the taxpayers.

and this government is the better of the two, by far!

Maybe my ol' buddy, Mr. Cummins could doo something different!!

 

[eclipse1966]

I think there is good bad and ugly with both provinces. Everyone talks about the high paying jobs in Alberta but I dont see a whole lot of my friends living here in BC hurting for money. We all have our toys, homes and cars while paying the higher taxes but at the same time we save big time money on fuel to go sledding out our back door

 

[Got boost want snow]

You never travel to anywhere else to sled, if not you are missing out as there are alot of areas in BC and Alberta that are honestly worth the drive to go and ride. Both provinces do have their downfalls and their great points. If the city would allow us to drive from our back door we have some pretty decent sledding too. Bylaws and bad apples fixed that for us. I do hope that this is the better of bunch for the sake of a great province. I already have 2 trips planned for this coming year and maybe a third to your fine province.

 

[eclipse1966]

You never travel to anywhere else to sled, if not you are missing out as there are alot of areas in BC and Alberta that are honestly worth the drive to go and ride. Both provinces do have their downfalls and their great points. If the city would allow us to drive from our back door we have some pretty decent sledding too. Bylaws and bad apples fixed that for us. I do hope that this is the better of bunch for the sake of a great province. I already have 2 trips planned for this coming year and maybe a third to your fine province.

To be honest the longest drive I have to take is 1 hr to Revi but being where I live we have so many places to go that it is not necessary to go farther. I would like to get back to Golden with my sled which is my old stomping grounds (I grew up there) but other than that there are plenty of places around here. Either way, I guess I am committed to paying the higher taxes and gas just to live where I do.

 

[JaySimon]

In all reality, even paying lots more for life, living where people come for vacation is pretty much awesome. Never mind the proximity to sledding.

 

[Stompin Tom]

I have lived in BC, Alberta and Sask, and I gotta tell you living in BC now is the best of the bunch and I will never go anywhere else.

Im a small buisness operator with 2 employee's, both make in excess of $70,000 per year and non of us suffer for toys. I laugh at those who feel there are no good jobs in BC, either they dont want to work or have a skill set that is pretty much useless to the area.

 

[frock]

If you can't find a good payin job in BC right now you're either to friggin lazy or to friggin stupid. The oil patch in northeast BC is going full bore right now. If it's not where you want to live, well to bad, suck it up and do what needs to be done to support yourself and quit whining about it.

Not sure where this twisting of the truth came from, but this was not a tax voted down by a minority of voters. It was voted down by the people who cared enough to bother to vote. I am one who voted it down and these are my reasons:

-I am paying almost $1500.00 more a year in tax under the HST because there is far more stuff taxable under the HST than the old taxes (this alone is reason enough for me).
-We are in this position right now because of this goverments arrogance and inability to do what the majority of people want.
-This government spent millions of our tax dollars on their propaganda, trying to sell this tax leading up to and during the vote. There was a few half-truths in there.
-It is true that the HST is more cost effective for business's than the old tax system, but the bottom line for me is I was paying way, way more in taxes and frankly I'm tired of that.

 

[JaySimon]

-It is true that the HST is more cost effective for business's than the old tax system, but the bottom line for me is I was paying way, way more in taxes and frankly I'm tired of that.

That bit always made me laugh. When it was being pitched, we were told that we would pay less for goods and services as companies would pass on the savings. Well, that never happened.

I agree with lots of what you said above as well.

 

[btcowboy]

If you can't find a good payin job in BC right now you're either to friggin lazy or to friggin stupid. The oil patch in northeast BC is going full bore right now. If it's not where you want to live, well to bad, suck it up and do what needs to be done to support yourself and quit whining about it.

Not sure where this twisting of the truth came from, but this was not a tax voted down by a minority of voters. It was voted down by the people who cared enough to bother to vote. I am one who voted it down and these are my reasons:

-I am paying almost $1500.00 more a year in tax under the HST because there is far more stuff taxable under the HST than the old taxes (this alone is reason enough for me).
-We are in this position right now because of this goverments arrogance and inability to do what the majority of people want.
-This government spent millions of our tax dollars on their propaganda, trying to sell this tax leading up to and during the vote. There was a few half-truths in there.
-It is true that the HST is more cost effective for business's than the old tax system, but the bottom line for me is I was paying way, way more in taxes and frankly I'm tired of that.

Not sure if this was directed at me, if not ignore this, if so here I go.

1- I love where I live and wouldnt change a thing about it.
2- Can I money I make any where in BC doubtful, but you are right it would be in the north of the province.
3- Am I lazy or stupid? Nope far from it. I made my choice to live there and work in Alberta
4- Am I whining? Nope just stated a fact, BC is an expensive province to live in. But as my licence plate says "Beautiful British Columbia"
5- Had I been home and not in Alberta working, I would have voted and it would have been to keep the HST as is.
6- Do you not think the the money the province has to pay back wont raise your taxes?
7- Do you not think that business will raise prices to recoup the extra cost of changing back to the old system, and and having to file 2 returns?

I think the 1500 savings will be less than what you actually do end up paying in the end.......Any ways not looking to start a pissing match with you. Thats whats great about this country, and you are right 55% voted it down.

I will state again, that I love BC, I love living in BC, I love playing in BC.......But taxes,and everything else does cost more.....

That was my 2 cents

 

[Riverjet]

The HST was nothing more than a tax increase and a tax shift from business to the consumer. The 1.6 billion dollars that the BC gov't has to give back to the feds is money that the feds gave the BC gov't to implement the HST in BC. Therefore it's not costing the BC taxpayer anything. Simple really!

Funny thing is there were no cries from business about the GST/PST prior to the HST being rammed down our throats by the LIEberals. Now that it's been defeated and the tax burden has been returned to where it rightfully belongs, the whining is incredible. The sky is falling, the sky is falling. LMFAO!!!

Oh ya, I recently drove from PG to Grande Prairie and bought a set of Toyo Open Country M/T tires for my truck and a Browning 300WSM Composite Stalker rifle and a pile of ammunition. With the fuel I used there and back and the price difference including way less tax, I got a trip to GP and ended up with $150.00 cash in my pocket.

Thanks Alberta!!!