The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is urging New Brunswick’s political parties to promise to lower the HST ahead of this fall’s election.
This comes after New Brunswick’s Progressive Conservatives promised tax cuts if re-elected. Leader Blaine Higgs said his party would cut the HST to 13 per cent from 15 per cent.
Jay Goldberg, interim Atlantic director of CTF, believes Higgs is on the right track by agreeing to lower the HST by two percentage points, a step he said will ultimately save taxpayers money in almost every retail environment.
“The Progressive Conservatives have laid out a plan to save taxpayers hundreds of dollars a year and it’s time for the other parties to do the same,” said Goldberg.
Goldberg explained that lowering the HST to 13 per cent would revert it to the rate seen eight years ago, a time when the Gallant government increased the HST by two points.
Cutting the HST would make New Brunswick more competitive and deliver a tax cut that benefits every taxpayer in the province, he said, including seniors on fixed incomes.
The Comprehensive Integrated Tax Coordination Agreement (CITCA) between New Brunswick and Canada established the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) in 1997, combining the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) with the federal Goods and Services Tax (GST).
The HST is in effect in all four Atlantic provinces and Ontario. It is set at 15 per cent throughout Atlantic Canada and 13 per cent in Ontario.
“This is the right tax cut at the right time and politicians of all stripes should step up to the plate and commit to cutting the HST,” added Goldberg.
