What a long, strange trip it's been.
B.C. voters let out a howl of outrage when the government announced it would bring in the harmonized sales tax to replace the two-tax system shortly
after the last provincial election, though the HST was explicitly not part of the B.C. Liberals' campaign.
That howl built into a crescendo after the new system went into effect in 2010. Those opposing the HST got organized, led by former premier Bill Vander Zalm, of all people.
It wasn't until the issue went to referendum in 2011 that the voices of business owners could be heard - those most affected by the yo-yoing taxes.
Those in the film industry actually preferred the HST, as it would give much needed tax relief to B.C. productions, allowing the province to compete with Ontario, which had also introduced the HST - though not with the same back-door approach as B.C.
While many small business owners didn't want the HST in the first place, they were also loathe to return to the old provincial sales and goods and services tax-system.
But B.C. voters delivered a stern message to the government that monkeying with the provincial tax system without public consultation was not acceptable - the referendum results were in favour of ditching the HST.
It took some time, but finally, as of Monday, we switched back.
Who knows how different things would have been if the HST had not been thrust upon us three years ago. Countless taxpayer dollars would have been saved, businesses would not have suffered, and perhaps people would even have been receptive to the idea of tweaking the system - if they were given the choice.
Now, as things return to not-quite-normal and another election approaches, maybe our politicians can suggest ways to make B.C. sales taxes simpler. Ways to help industries - including film - thrive in the province.
But please - ask voters before implementing all those "great" ideas, OK?
