Governments should never play fast and loose with our taxes. This is equally true when it comes to spending tax-dollars as well as formulating tax policy. Unfortunately, British Columbia has started down an ill-advised path in recent years and it is necessary to buck this trend. Citizens must be thoroughly consulted and involved in any decision to alter the tax scheme - after all, it is our money that government is spending. This should be simple reality of governance, yet B.C. has taken another route - one of secrecy and impulsiveness. The HST was robbed of any potential benefits to the economy by the way it was foisted upon taxpayers without having discussed it during the most recent election.
The Liberal government chose to implement the HST without any public consultations and against the explicit wishes of the population. Government should never be able to circumvent public consultations - the citizens and taxpayers of this province deserve to be heard.
Furthermore, governments must refrain from using tax policy to temporarily boost their popularity during the election cycle. For example, just before announcing his resignation Gordon Campbell attempted to use tax policy to overcome his poor leadership. Tax policy must be respected and considered carefully, and should never be subject to the fleeting whims of a political party.
