Say What?….We Still Have The HST!?

“…In an article in The Vancouver Province about weak Christmas retail sales Dec. 28, experienced Credit Suisse analyst Gary Balter was commenting on the 40 per cent drop in Searts Canada’s share value in 2011.

Sears is in a lot of trouble in the US, because of the wretched economy …but Canada’s economy is relatively strong, our debt load is a fraction of the US, our consumer confidence is higher and our political situation is much more stable.

Yet is not well in the retail sector here… especially as viewed from through the microcosm of Sears Canada. Why?

“Canada has been very, very difficult, due to the harmonized sales tax,” said Balter.

That’s not me saying it; not Bill Vander Zalm saying it; not some NDP critic saying it. No, it’s from an economist working for the well-known and trusted international financial analysis institution, Credit Suisse.

The HST indeed HAS had a dampening effect, to put it mildly, on major spending by British Columbians….”