Decision may cost province 100,000 jobs, billions in taxpayer dollars
With voters in BC’s recent HST referendum deciding to scrap the value-added tax, Jack Mintz outlines what that outcome could mean for the province moving forward.
In his latest Financial Post column, Mintz says that killing the HST could cost the province 100,000 jobs, a $1.6 billion repayment of the transition funds provided by the federal government, and $3 billion in spending reductions or tax increases by the provincial government to reinstate the PST.
Mintz describes the referendum results as an expression of anger from BC voters. “This anger, however, comes at a well-documented economic and social price,” he writes.