Aug. 26, 2011
The chief electoral officer from Elections BC released the results of the HST mail-in referendum Friday morning in Victoria – delivering the final death knell to the much hated tax.
A majority 54.73 per cent of voters sent in ballots to turn down the tax.
More than 1.6 million people -- or 52 per cent of registered voters -- mailed in referendum ballots during the eight-week voting period that ended earlier this month. The number represents almost as many people who voted in the last provincial election.
The province will now return to a GST/PST system, a process estimated to take between 18 to 24 months.
During the referendum Premier Christy Clark tried to sweeten voters by promising to cut the tax back to 10 per cent by 2014 if they supported it.
Clark has said there is a Plan B if the tax was extinguished, but has not said what that is. She is expected to speak later Friday afternoon.
The B.C. government will now have to plug a $3-billion hole in its finances. The province is now forced to repay the $1.6 billion it received from Ottawa to switch to the HST.
Fallout
Some political insiders have speculated that the tax would be voted down, partially because of the way it was introduced.
Many likened the BC Liberal party's introduction of the HST two years ago to a sneak-attack on citizens.
The opposition B.C. New Democrats have maintained that the HST would hurt the economy and businesses because the average person will have less cash to buy goods.
An anti-HST petition, led by former premier Bill Vander Zalm, gathered more than 700,000 signatures. The petition and the Fight-HST movement paved the way for the current referendum. |