Rational debate was shouted down May 26 at the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) public forum in Prince George.
Representatives on both sides of the issue did little to clarify the how the tax will actually impact British Columbians, while a rowdy audience of about 140 people in the Canfor Theatre at UNBC showed a clear anti-HST bent.
Speaking on behalf of keeping the new tax regime were David Robertson, a Vancouver tax lawyer, and Dan McLaren, Prince George-based Commonwealth Financial president. They belong to the Smart Tax Alliance, which is the government-recognized proponent group for the HST.
On the other side were former B.C. premier Bill Vander Zalm and B.C. First Party spokesman Chris Delaney, both of whom organized the Fight HST campaign that prompted the upcoming referendum on the tax.
Robertson, who described himself as a "sales tax geek," said the PST "kills jobs (and) provides disincentives to invest in the province."
While he admitted the HST shifts the tax burden from businesses to consumers, he added even business magnate "Jimmy Pattison's a consumer," drawing the evening's first round of jeers.
McLaren, who described himself as a local guy with "a little mortgage business," said HST rebates have helped his company build housing for low-income seniors in the downtown core.
"If the argument is the (HST) just helps the rich, I'm here to tell you we're here to help the poor."
Robertson said the choice boiled down to choosing between two taxes that total 12 per cent, or a single tax that will be reduced to 10 per cent over the next three years, as the government announced last week.
That seeming flip-flop on the part of the B.C. Liberal government provided ample material for Vander Zalm.
"The government admitted they were wrong," he said.
Vander Zalm said the two-point decrease is "not bad," but the HST would have to drop to about eight per cent to fully mitigate its impact on consumers.
Still, he added, that figure "depends on whether the calculations are done by a lawyer, an economist or the people."
Delaney said the HST will cost average citizens up to an extra $24 billion over the next decade, because items that were previously PST-exempt are now subject to the HST.
"Those hundreds of items add up to billions of dollars."
After opening statements, the men took questions from the audience. Few of the queries were answered, and most were prefaced by lengthy statements for or against the tax.
The best question of the bunch came from a health-food store owner who said his business has decreased since previously PST-exempt vitamins are now subject to HST. He asked how that can be good for the economy if decreased use of such supplements will ostensibly lead to higher health-care costs.
Robertson conceded the point, but said it is "one small issue." He suggested health-food suppliers band together to "push back" and ask for exemptions.
Ballots for the mail-in HST referendum are set to go out in June, and the fate of the tax should be known in August.
Joe Fries is a reporter for the Prince George Free Press.