(02/16/12) -

Two-in-Five British Columbians Hold Off on Purchases Because of HST

Two thirds of respondents are dissatisfied with the plan to phase out the harmonized sales tax by March 2013.

Many people in British Columbia are unhappy with the time the government is taking to abandon the harmonized sales tax (HST), and some are deciding not to acquire certain goods and services in order to avoid the tax, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative provincial sample of 801 British Columbians, 66 per cent of respondents say they are dissatisfied with the government’s plan to phase out the HST by March 2013. British Columbians who voted “Yes” (72%) and “No” (70%) on last year’s referendum are equally disappointed.

Three-in-five British Columbians (60%) think the government’s timeline to go back to the provincial sales tax (PST) and goods and services tax (GST) system is too long, including 68 per cent of people in Vancouver Island, 65 per cent of those over the age of 55, and 85 per cent of those who voted “Yes” in order to scrap the HST in 2011.

Two-in-five respondents (40%) say they have held off on some major purchases—such as a car, work with a contractor, or a holiday—because they do not want to pay the HST, including 44 per cent of middle-aged British Columbians.

While one third of respondents in the highest income bracket (32%) have chosen not to make some major purchases because of the HST, the proportion rises to 41 per cent for those in the lowest income bracket and 43 per cent for respondents in the middle income bracket.

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

CONTACT:

Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion
+877 730 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

Methodology: From February 7 to February 9, 2012, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 801 randomly selected British Columbia adults who are Angus Reid Forum panellists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.5%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of British Columbia. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.