After repeatedly opening the door to bring back the HST with a different name, Christy Clark suddenly tried to backtrack under pressure. But her corporate backers don’t seem to be fooled.

Yesterday, Val Litwin, CEO of the BC Chamber of Commerce was asked if he thought Christy Clark would bring in a new value added tax despite her clear commitment not to. Litwin replied: “You know I can't say with certainty, John. Certainly I hope the intent is there.”

And later that day in a facebook townhall, Chambers of Commerce continued to push the issue with former Finance Minister Mike De Jong, with one asking explicitly for an HST with a new name:

“many business owners saw the value in the HST [...] Are there any plans to bring back the HST? (renamed of course!)”

-Diane Hawkins, CEO, Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce

The BC Chamber of Commerce was quick to ‘like’ the comment...

Unfortunately, despite it being raised three times, Mike De Jong didn’t answer any questions about their plans to bring in a value added tax.

Anti-HST leader Bill Vander Zalm isn’t buying it either. When asked about whether he believed Clark, he said: “of course they are going to do it. The business community wants it. But they won’t say anything before the election.”

British Columbians deserve some answers from Christy Clark:

• After saying repeatedly you were considering bringing back a value added tax, why did you suddenly change your mind?
• If your big business donors don’t believe that a new value added tax is really off the table, why should British Columbians believe you?
• After your party broke their promise on the HST, why should British Columbians believe you now?