HST Referendum

[joel]

almost everyone uses services one way or another, but maybe not the specific ones you mentioned.. here's a list:
# Basic Cable Television
# Local Residential Phone
# Repair to Certain Household Appliances (e.g., Stoves, Ovens, Refrigerators, Washers, and Dryers)
# Repair, Maintenance or Renovation Services for Real Property (e.g., Plumbing Electrical Wiring)
# Landscaping, Lawn-Care, Private Snow Removal and House Cleaning
# Computer Software Repair Services (e.g., virus removal or software installation)
# Funeral Services
# Fitness Trainer
# Hair Stylist/Barber
# Esthetician Services (e.g., Manicures, Pedicures, Facials)
# Accounting Services
# Interior Design Services
# Wedding Planning Services
# Veterinarian Services
# Dry Cleaning
# Catering and Event Planning Services (e.g., planning, consulting, coordinating and organizin

So maybe it's only $10 a month for just restaurant meals... then add on the rest of services above, then the rest for entertainment, home costs, snack foods, travel, car purchase, etc.. maybe. It's reasonable by the end of the year that you've probably spent 300-500 more on tax per person. and hey maybe that's still not a big cost for you. But then if you ask voters which would you prefer, keep an extra 300-500 in their wallets or let the government have it... i'm thinking most are going to vote to keep it.

so like i said whatever option is the best for that individual... on the other hand a business owner who is looking at saving several hundred dollars a year may vote the other way.

[se7entse7en]

As sort of an aside:
Given the choice of being taxed on what I earn vs. on what I spend, I'd vote for spend.

Everybody seems to be saying how this generation isn't saving enough. It's tough to save when they lob off a bunch of your money right off the bat.
If I vote I think this would be my reasoning behind it... in faith that it would mean I'd have to pay less in income tax (in the long run).

[geForce]

[nature boy]

even with that list, how many of those do you use in a year? how many do you use in 5 years?
sure, that one year you actually do use them, it'd suck, but spread that out over the years that you didn't use them to get a more accurate picture of how much it's costing you.

let me break it down just from your list:
# Basic Cable Television - most people have it but it's going to way of the dodo with the internet being so popular
# Local Residential Phone - a what?
# Repair to Certain Household Appliances (e.g., Stoves, Ovens, Refrigerators, Washers, and Dryers) - maybe once every 10 years, and that's not even per appliance.
# Repair, Maintenance or Renovation Services for Real Property (e.g., Plumbing Electrical Wiring) - affects homeowners, which i'm not one. and mostly would affect homeowners of old ass buildings. but there are also tax breaks to be had in that.
# Landscaping, Lawn-Care, Private Snow Removal and House Cleaning - i can do all these things myself. don't like the tax, get off the couch and pick up a tool.
# Computer Software Repair Services (e.g., virus removal or software installation) - i literally never had to use such a service. everyone and their mom knows someone who would do this as a favour.
# Funeral Services - i only die once, and if i have to pay extra for my funeral i don't think i'd complain about it.
# Fitness Trainer - are you serious?
# Hair Stylist/Barber - girl's cuts are expensive, but also infrequent. guy's cuts are cheap.
# Esthetician Services (e.g., Manicures, Pedicures, Facials) - are you serious?
# Accounting Services - paying someone to do your taxes better guarantee you a better return
# Interior Design Services - again only affects homeowners and only those who would actually use such a service (likely richer people)
# Wedding Planning Services - got married already. don't plan on doing it again. but if i do, i wouldn't get a planner anyway, only rich people do that.
# Veterinarian Services - if i had a pet
# Dry Cleaning - i have a washer and dryer at home.
# Catering and Event Planning Services (e.g., planning, consulting, coordinating and organizing) - not once in my life

after going through that list, i suspect that the hst will cost me roughly 20-30 bucks a year on average for the next 5 years. i'm not a rich man, but i certainly can afford that. and that's only IF the hst savings as is mentioned in the video doesn't kick in.

maybe this whole referendum is a good thing though, it's getting people thinking about why they hate the hst so much and helping them realise if their feelings are really founded on anything or not.

don't get me wrong, i believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion and should vote whichever way they want, but i just have yet to hear a solid argument telling me that hst is bad and that we should get rid of it. even less so since we've had it for almost a year now and i still haven't had to declare bankruptcy or go on welfare.

[nature boy]

[nature boy]

[geForce]

I don't mean to offend you when I say this, and I might be wrong anyway, but - I don't think you're a fair representation of an average family when it comes to expenditures. You don't own a home and you don't really need to buy many of the everyday life essentials.

Let me breakdown your breakdown of the list:

# Basic Cable Television - most people have it but it's going to way of the dodo with the internet being so popular
- Can't watch everything on the internet.

# Local Residential Phone - a what?
- Some people need it still

# Repair to Certain Household Appliances (e.g., Stoves, Ovens, Refrigerators, Washers, and Dryers) - maybe once every 10 years, and that's not even per appliance.
- Is that why on google maps, there are like 50 million dots when you search for "appliance repair" just in Vancouver and Burnaby? Just to prepare for that one in 10 year opportunity?

# Repair, Maintenance or Renovation Services for Real Property (e.g., Plumbing Electrical Wiring) - affects homeowners, which i'm not one. and mostly would affect homeowners of old ass buildings. but there are also tax breaks to be had in that.
- I guess that's why James Ujimoto is so poor.... oh wait.

# Landscaping, Lawn-Care, Private Snow Removal and House Cleaning - i can do all these things myself. don't like the tax, get off the couch and pick up a tool.
- Same deal with appliance repair, 50 million dots.

# Computer Software Repair Services (e.g., virus removal or software installation) - i literally never had to use such a service. everyone and their mom knows someone who would do this as a favour.
- I agree with this one... total ripoff.

# Funeral Services - i only die once, and if i have to pay extra for my funeral i don't think i'd complain about it.
- seriously? This industry already price gouges mourning families... adding HST to that is like insult to injury (or death, as it were).

# Fitness Trainer - are you serious?
- This applies to gym memberships too.

# Hair Stylist/Barber - girl's cuts are expensive, but also infrequent. guy's cuts are cheap.
- You're lucky you have a boy and a low maintenance wife.

# Esthetician Services (e.g., Manicures, Pedicures, Facials) - are you serious?
- You're lucky you have a boy and low maintenance wife.

# Accounting Services - paying someone to do your taxes better guarantee you a better return
- Someone should tell JT that he shouldn't bother being an accountant.

# Interior Design Services - again only affects homeowners and only those who would actually use such a service (likely richer people)
- total ripoff

# Wedding Planning Services - got married already. don't plan on doing it again. but if i do, i wouldn't get a planner anyway, only rich people do that.
- total ripoff

# Veterinarian Services - if i had a pet
- this gets expensive, and it's another one of those price gouging industries.

# Dry Cleaning - i have a washer and dryer at home.
- Dry cleaning is different.

# Catering and Event Planning Services (e.g., planning, consulting, coordinating and organizing) - not once in my life
- wedding industry and everything related is a huge growing industry

[geForce]

[joel]

irregardless if its 1$ a year or 1000$ a year. You ask people to vote whether or not to pay it or not to pay it, i think the majority comes out to no pay it. ppl could care less about the "provincial economy" if they are barely scraping by already.

i'm not really decided yet myself, but i just have a feeling that when all is said and done if you give the people the choice to say no to more taxes, that's what they will do. If we had a vote to reduce income taxes ppl would vote that way too...

[nature boy]

my point isn't that everyone is like me, but my point is how many people out there are actually losing a great deal of money on these things?
sure, there may be 50 some odd appliance repair places, but that isn't because everyone goes there more often than once every 10 years, it's because 3 million people in the area have appliances and they need to be fixed at $200-300 once every 10 years.

i'd agree that i'm more the exception than the rule, but i highly doubt that the hst is going to cost any normal (average) person more than $1000 a year. even $500. i'd think that the hst would realistically (and this is just from my own head calculations) cost a family (not an individual) like $250-300 a year on average. and that's me being generous. i think in most cases it'd be way less.

[nature boy]

[se7entse7en]

[geForce]

[nature boy]

not every time. i provide a service for people. i don't charge hst lol. in fact, i don't charge anything.

let's not forget that a lot of the services that we're paying for is also hidden in the cost of goods. like at a restaurant, a retail store, etc. we don't often pay for labour just as labour. i know we do, i'm just saying it's not often.

all in all, if i had $500, of course i'd want to keep it. but if that $500 was going to go where it's better used rather than getting me another pair of shoes that i don't really need or that new thing that i like, then it can go to the better cause, especially if it's taken out in a way that's hardly noticeable.

and again, i don't think we're talking about $500. i'm thinking (for me at least) more along the lines of tens of dollars.

[nature boy]