Bruce Ralston, MLA • Surrey-Whalley

VANCOUVER – Finance Minister Kevin Falcon’s ever-shifting line on the HST is a telling example of why British Columbians don’t trust the B.C. Liberals, say the New Democrats.

Falcon refused to give a straight answer Wednesday morning when asked by a reporter if the Liberals’ promise to reduce the rate of the HST would be a permanent reduction.

“This is just the latest in the shifting lines offered by the Liberals on the HST,” New Democrat finance critic Bruce Ralston said. “They said they were against it, then they brought it in. They said it would be revenue-neutral, when it clearly is not. They said it would create jobs and lower prices, but those claims have been shown to be tragically false.”

Falcon’s comments only add to the confusion,” Ralston said.

“Premier Clark said only a few months ago that dropping the rate of the HST by a point or two would just be buying their votes with their own money,” said Ralston. “Now Mr. Falcon won’t even guarantee the drop would be permanent.

“I guess this means they’ve gone from trying to buy votes to trying to rent them.”

“As it stands now, the only thing Christy Clark and the Liberals are saying is ‘trust us.’ That’s a pretty hard argument to make from a government that has repeatedly broken their word on fundamental issues in British Columbia,” said Ralston.

“The best the Liberals have been able to offer is that maybe in three years the rate will be decreased – as long as that promise isn’t like all the other throwaway promises the B.C. Liberals have made – and maybe that rate won’t go up again.”

Ralston said Falcon is trying to convince voters that going back to a tax system he supported up to the 2009 election would have dire consequences for B.C.’s budget. But reliable analysis shows that reverting to the GST/PST system would help balance the provincial budget earlier and would save taxpayers $2 billion. On the other hand, Premier Clark has already said that vital public services such as health care and education may be cut to cover the costs of her HST bribe.

“B.C. voters have a clear choice beginning June 24,” Ralston said. “They should vote ‘Yes’ to eliminate the HST, and return British Columbia to a system that worked well for decades and that saves people money.”

Adrian Dix and the B.C. New Democrats willl continue to fight to eliminate the HST by telling voters the true cost of the new tax to families and small businesses, and by campaigning for a ‘Yes’ vote to eliminate the HST in the upcoming mail-in referendum.