More than three-quarters of B.C.’s business leaders (77%) are unhappy that B.C. is returning to separate provincial (PST) and federal (GST) sales taxes. That finding is part of Business in Vancouver’s 2011 quarterly business outlook survey, conducted by Ipsos Reid.
“The HST has always been viewed as a corporate-friendly tax,” said Steve Mossop, Ipsos Reid’s president of Western Canadian research.
Elections BC revealed in August that 54.73% of the electorate voted against keeping the tax in a summer-wide mail-in referendum.
Nearly two-thirds of the 105 business leaders surveyed thought the referendum result would have a negative impact on their business; only 19% thought their business would receive a positive bump.
“How negative do they think it’s going to be?” Mossop asked. “It’s in the middle, somewhat negative. They don’t think it’s going to be a disaster for their business. Most say that it will have a somewhat negative impact.”
BIV’s outlook survey is conducted four times a year and investigates a range of issues. Other aspects of the survey will be revealed in next week’s print edition.
Glen Korstrom
@GlenKorstrom