A day after the province tabled the bill to bring back the PST the Surrey Board of Trade is hoping the old tax will get a new look.
CEO Anita Huberman says “The PST is so complex so administratively burdensome and changes need to be made.”
Huberman says they have fired off recomended PST changes to the governments expert panel on tax.
She said “But they have also implimented an expert panel on business taxation to ensure that BC’s business tax environment is more competitive so we are hoping that they will take our recomendations seriously.”
Huberman says the PST is wrapped in to much red tape and businesses want some clarification “legal services provided by a law firm or a Notary Public office are subject to PST but if a service is provided by a lawyer employed by an accounting firm the service is not taxable.”
Also among the suggested changes Huberman would like to see bulletproof vests worn by police categorized as safety equipment.
She says they have sent a list of 11 recomended changes as well as suggestions on how to clear up grey areas in the old PST’s permanent exemptions.
“They are trying to make the PST a much more manageable tax for business I think there is always room for improvement and I think the announcement Minister Falcon made yesterday was a good start and what we are recomending are much more detailed improvements, attention to detail.”
Huberman says businesses tell her if the same old PST comes back it will be drag on the BC economy and hinder job creation.
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