悠然人生

剛剛收到會計師協會寄來的信，雖然我不訝異它們會支持HST，但我還真沒想到他們會明目張膽地發信鼓勵給我們。

遇到這種議題，不是應該保持中立性的嗎？

為什麼只告訴我們HST的好處，不告訴我們壞處呢？

雖然我是支持HST的（請見：Do we need HST?），但協會這種偏頗的作法實在是傷害到會計師超然獨立的應有形象，讓人很不舒服吶！

也許我該寄封信去抗議！哼！

原信如下：

The HST Referendum begins today. Once mail service starts sometime next week, you will receive a ballot and be asked to    return it with your vote to Elections BC by July 22, 2011 . Your Association asks that you review the facts and make an informed decision about which tax system is better for British Columbia.

Since 2005, CGA-BC has argued in favour of a more equitable and transparent value-added tax. Although no tax is perfect, the HST is the right tax system for our times. It is a key component in creating a competitive environment that will create jobs, reduce red tape, attract new business, and more efficiently and fairly generate the revenues necessary to pay for the things we care about.

The HST replaces an expensive, cumbersome tax system that was heavy on red tape and low on value. It replaces two taxes with one tax, and with government legislation now passed to reduce the HST from 12 per cent to 10 per cent over the next three years, the HST will undercut the combined PST/GST taxes by two full percentage points if accepted.

Read our cover feature on the HST in the summer issue of Outlook magazine. It includes a series of articles written by Michael Kane and Jack Mintz and features prominent CGAs such as Dave Fairhall, FCGA; CGA-BC Chair Bruce Hurst, FCGA; and Past-Chair John Pankratz, FCGA, and others who make the case for the harmonized sales tax.

The Positive Impact of the HST

§       At 10 per cent, the HST will be two points lower than the 12 per cent PST-GST

§       The average B.C. family will now pay $120 less per year than they did under the PST-GST

§       In addition to low-income families receiving up to $230 per person in HST credits, children and seniors will receive annual transition cheques of $175 until the 10 per cent HST rate takes effect

§       83 per cent of small businesses support a 10 per cent HST, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses

§       The HST is an efficient consumption tax with no loopholes, exemptions for special interest groups or deductions

§       The HST taxes the growing part of our economy services thereby providing $800m additional revenues British Columbia needs for health care and education by 2014

§       The HST removes tax duplication throughout the value chain eliminating the costly compounding effect of PST which was applied at every level from raw materials right through to the retail level.

Please note that to keep the HST you must vote No on the ballot. The Association encourages you to please vote in this important referendum.

Gordon  Ruth, FCGA

Chief Executive Officer