HST SNAFU

We’ve been waiting for it with the kind of enthusiasm usually reserved for root canals, and now it’s upon us: the HST. This harmonized tax thingie that is being lowered over our collective citizenship—at least that of British Columbians and Ontarians—on Canada Day, of all days, as if a true patriot would ever have signed on for such malarkey.

What it will all mean for our daily struggles is the stuff of mass speculation at this point, particularly as it relates to the category in which we make our most frequent purchases: food.

But let’s give it a shot.

In BC, where restaurant patrons are spared PST on their bills, the HST represents a 7% hike in meal costs, full stop. In Ontario, things are more complicated. On the one hand, the single value-added 13% tax represents a break from the 15% tax (5% GST, 10% liquor tax at licensed bars and restaurants) it replaces. But some reports have suggested the LCBO will raise their markup by more than seven percent. That increase, theoretically, will be passed on to consumers.

As for the food, we got a late-in-the-game gift last week from the McGuinty government exempting such curious particulars as food and beverages heated for consumption, salads, sandwiches, cheese platters, cold cuts, cookies, chips, and fruit and vegetables—provided their total price is $4 or less.

Basic groceries were always exempt. Cow’s milk is exempt; soy milk is not. A single muffin attracts HST; a six pack is off the hook. Your fake fruit juice is taxable; your real fruit juice is not. And so on.

What a mess. Harmonized Sales Tax, you say? Not so harmonious at all.