Yesterday, Christy Clark revealed that she wants to implement a new value added tax, claiming it was “different” than the HST that British Columbians rejected.

Unfortunately, it’s not different - the HST was a value added tax.

A value added tax in BC would shift the tax burden businesses onto people in exactly the same way as the first HST did. The Tax Competitiveness Report that Christy Clark promoted indicates that creating a value added tax would cost government up to $3.1 billion in revenue – unless PST exemptions on goods and services are eliminated like they were under the HST. (Page 52)

The corporations consulted on the report have donated $1.6 million to Christy Clark since British Columbians rejected the HST.

British Columbians deserve some answers from Christy Clark on the new HST:

• If you were contemplating a massive shift in BC’s taxation system, why isn’t it mentioned in your platform?
• How will you make up the multi-billion dollar shortfall? Are you planning to cut services or eliminate PST exemptions like you did with the HST?
• After years of hiking people’s taxes and fees to pay for your giveaways to millionaires, do you think British Columbians support a multi-billion dollar tax shift from businesses onto people?