Kyle’s Blog: HST? How Do I Put This Politely?

GNN blogger Kyle German works for a golf course that is over the border in Washington State, so he won’t have to worry on a professional basis about the Harmonized Sales Tax that’s due to come into effect next July in British Columbia, where German makes his home in Surrey. He does feel for the B.C. golf courses that have to start charging an extra seven per cent next year.

The mood in B.C. towards the HST?

How do I put this politely?

It’s not good.

Everybody’s looking at it as one more thing to make our own businesses more difficult and our bottom lines harder to achieve and that doesn’t only apply to golf.

I know a few people who own restaurants and they’re just getting over the head with the HST. Either people are going to stop going or the servers are going to get seven per cent less in tips.

People are going to say, `Listen, I know it’s going to cost me $75 for dinner – well, that’s what it’s going to cost me. It’s not going to cost me an extra seven per cent. It’s going to cost somebody else another seven per cent.’

The government out here is talking about how it’s going to be better for jobs, better for the economy, this and that. Other than the economists who are on their side, nobody else can figure out how that’s going to work.

It puts the business person in the position that he or she is going to have to work extra hard to convince people that they’re dealing with that it’s not them charging the extra seven per cent.

Come next summer here, it’s going to be an interesting time.

With the economy and other things, there are so many things that golf courses have to combat and deal with right now and then, this gets thrown into the mix.

Look at golf for the last five to seven years. It’s been a tough go and this is not helping.

Being at Point Roberts, it’s one less thing that I have to deal with, but I do feel for the people working in B.C. Every golf course out there does their best and they’re passionate about what they do.

Every time something like this comes along, it’s like they keep getting whacked over the head.