Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said today that “other provinces” are kicking the tires on the idea of blending the PST with the GST …
“I think this is very good economic policy,” Flaherty told reporters in Ottawa Monday. “This is a massive tax cut, a $5 billion tax cut for businesses in the province of Ontario and that means job creation and investment in the province of Ontario. So, this is very good economic policy over time.
“I’ve already heard from other provinces, now that Ontario has done this, that are not harmonized, saying let’s talk, we want to move in the same direction. Why? Because they know that that’s where the job creation will be and they don’t want to be left out.”
Alberta has no sales tax. PEI, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and BC are the only provinces without a harmonized tax. (Quebec’s tax is harmonized but is not in sync with federal tax regs.)