sa国际传媒 consumers who make green lifestyle choices like installing solar heating or opting for an energy-efficient washer and dryer will take a financial hit when the 12 per cent harmonized sales tax comes into effect next July.
Items that were previously exempt from the provincial sales tax, including many of the environmentally friendly exemptions announced in the provincial government's 2008 "Green Budget," will be subject to the combined federal/provincial tax. That has the NDP accusing the government of breaking environmental promises.
"During the election campaign, the sa国际传媒 Liberals staked their credibility on claims they were encouraging consumers to make green choices," said environment critic Rob Fleming. "Instead, they are scrapping millions of dollars in incentives and tax exemptions for sustainable products like bicycles, green building products and fuel-efficient cars."
The biggest "sticker shock" will be for green-built homes, which are already more expensive, Fleming said.
And, the province has opted to use the lion's share of the five per cent of gross sales the federal government allows it to exempt from the HST by exempting gasoline and fuel, he said -- " a huge slide backwards."
Environment Minister Barry Penner said Finance Ministry staff will look at options to encourage green choices as they come up with details of next month's budget and the budget next spring.
"There is still plenty of time to consider other methods of encouraging people to acquire these products," he said. "I think the NDP is suffering from premature expectation."
If people are concerned about the additional tax next July, they could purchase a bike or other green products any time between now and June, he said.
Guy Dauncey, president of the sa国际传媒 Sustainable Energy Association, said the tax hike will discourage people who are struggling to afford green products.
"It would certainly make sense for the government to continue its PST exemption on environmentally friendly items such as bicycles and building efficiency items, since every purchase of this kind helps us to reduce our carbon footprint and achieve the province's climate goals," he said.
British Columbians should lobby Ottawa for a full HST exemption on products that were formerly PST exempt, Dauncey said.
It's an idea supported by Kevin Pegg of Energy Solutions on Glanford Avenue, a company that sells solar, microhydro and wind energy systems. "People buying renewable energy should be [encouraged], not penalized," he said.
Exempting fossil fuels but not renewables is the wrong sort of tax shift and flies in the face of the goals of the carbon tax, Pegg said.
"Will people be put off buying? Absolutely. These [energy] systems are already expensive and the seven per cent PST exemption often put people over the edge to say OK," he said.
Joe Ward, owner of North Park Bicycle Shop, called the increased tax a step in the wrong direction. "Everyone is being urged to take a greener path and people should have incentives to make a greener path."
