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Would you like to see HST repealed in your province?

by Community Team Posted: August 26, 2011 3:52 PM Last Updated: August 27, 2011 11:59 AM

Categories: Canada, Community

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An HST protest outside the British Columbia Liberal Leadership Convention in February 2011. The tax will be repealed after a binding referendum. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)  

After tallying the results of a binding referndum, British Columbians have voted to scrap the controversial harmonized sales tax.

Nearly 55 per cent of those who cast ballots in the mail-in referendum said they'd like to see the HST eliminated. 

Premier Christy Clark has not yet announced how the province will roll back the HST. The provincial government has previously said it will have to reimburse the federal government the $1.6 billion they received for implementing it. 

The announcement of the HST in 2009 sparked outrage among consumers who felt combining the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Provincial Sales Tax (PST) would mean higher prices on things like restaurant meals, airline tickets and haircuts -- things that were previously exempt from PST.

B.C. is the only province to have fought back against the HST. 

New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Ontario all currently have a harmonized sales tax. 

What do you think of the referendum? If you have HST in your province, would you like to see it repealed? 

(This survey is not scientific. Results are based on readers' responses.)

Tags: taxes