Who gains from harmonized sales tax?(HST)?
Businesses that currently charge both PST and GST on their sales will benefit since the switch to HST will not impact the selling price of their goods and services, but they will be able to get a refund of any HST they pay on their business expenses. In particular, businesses with high capital costs (such as plant, machinery and equipment) will probably be the biggest beneficiaries. Individuals with low incomes may also benefit. Even though the cost of many items that currently do not have PST will probably go up once HST is in place, low income families will also receive an additional HST credit above and beyond the existing GST credit, which in many cases will more than offset the higher tax paid. For other groups it is not as clear what the impact will be. Businesses that do not currently have to charge PST on their sales, such as restaurants, will probably be negatively impacted since the cost to consumers of their goods and services will go up. Overall, most economists seem to bel
