Ipsos Reid/Global News HST Poll

Vancouver, BC

Support for HST

Q1. As you may know, the provincial government recently announced it will combine the seven percent provincial sales tax (PST) with the five percent federal goods and services tax (GST) for a single Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) rate of 12 percent. The HST, which will become effective on July 1, 2010, will add a seven percent tax to some items that are currently exempt from PST.

Overall, do you support or oppose the provincial governments plan to harmonize the federal (GST) and provincial (PST) sales taxes into a single tax (HST)?

Comments: Very few (12%) British Columbians say they support the provincial government's plan to harmonize the provincial and federal sales taxes. Most (85%) residents oppose the HST, including seven-in-ten (71%) who "strongly oppose" the HST.

Opposition to the HST is universal across regional and demographic groups.

Expected Impact on Pocketbook

Q2. Overall, how do you expect the switch to a harmonized sales tax (HST) will impact your pocketbook?

Comments: Nearly nine-in-ten (87%) British Columbians expect a switch to the HST will have a negative impact on their pocketbook, including half (51%) who expect a "very negative impact".

Perceptions that the HST will have a negative impact are universal across regional and demographic groups.

Methodology

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid online poll conducted on behalf of Global BC. The poll was fielded July 31 to August 3, 2009 with a representative sample of 720 adult British Columbia residents. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 1773.7 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population of British Columbia been polled. The margin of error will be larger for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual British Columbia population according to 2006 Census data.

The polling was conducted using Ipsos Reid's "Voice of the West Interactive Forum" - an online panel of more than 6,500 British Columbians who have been randomly recruited to match the overall characteristics of the adult residents of the province.

For more information on this poll please contact:
Kyle Braid
Vice President
Ipsos Reid Public Affairs
(778) 373-5130
[email protected]

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