items like natural gas & electicity?
Not in BC. Yax on electricity actually drops 0.4%
This rationalizations of VAT is long overdue. I'm a supporter of higher sales tax and lower income tax. All taxes on the sales side would be a very good thing IMHO, but with all the vested interests of tax lawyers, tax accountants, and the unions with people working at RevCan, not likely to happen anytime soon.
HST means less total VAT flowing into the government. They are counting on volume from more efficient businesses, doing more business, and hiring and paying more workers,
dave