The day after the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) took effect here in BC and my observations are that a tall coffee at Starbucks now costs me a $1.96. After I got my Starbucks I stopped in to visit my friendly neighbourhood barber; I stop by Brad the Barber’s to catch up on the local gossip and for “man conversation” about trucks and tractors and how the NDP screwed up the province so badly in the 1990s (massive yawn, seeing as I have heard this diatribe every time I visit).
I asked Brad the Barber how the HST was going to impact their business. He said no problem, a haircut will now cost an even $20, up from $17. So let’s see, if my high school math skills are correct, three over seventeen times a hundred, why that comes to 17.64%.
If you assume that Brad the Barber’s $17 haircut included the GST, that means that they have built in a pretty handsome increase in revenue for themselves. You gotta wonder how many other businesses are doing the same thing.