Although residents across the province believe the HST will cost them sorely, at least one researcher claims it’s not a "tax grab."
Jonathan Kesselman, a professor with Simon Fraser University’s school of public policy, has published a new report that uses Statistics Canada data to show the HST has had a modest impact on the prices consumers pay.
The report, which was done on behalf of the B.C. Business Council, found that since the implementation of the new tax, consumer prices have climbed only 0.6% in B.C.
That means the average consumer now pays $1 for every $165 of spending.
"However, surveys find that more than half of all respondents mistakenly believe the tax rate has gone up with the HST for a range of consumer items that actually had no change in tax," Kesselman wrote in his report.
He also found that the HST’s pass-through of business savings to consumers, which has been repeatedly questioned, has been "large and rapid."
"If the HST is abolished, British Columbians will face significant costs."
Meanwhile, Fight HST, the group that led the petition to repeal the controversial tax, issued a statement Monday saying it would not make a submission to an independent panel reviewing the tax.
"Everyone on the panel is solidly in favour of the HST and belongs to groups that support this tax. Pretending they are independent is like saying the Vancouver Canucks are neutral when it comes to playing a hockey game," said the group’s lead organizer Chris Delaney.
A referendum on the tax will be held September 24.