New poll shows HST affects the spending habits of British Columbians

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Two out of three British Columbians say their household finances have been affected by the HST, according to a poll of more than 800 people that also finds people in B.C. are a lot more upset about the tax than people in Ontario.

Mario Canseco with Angus Reid Public Opinion that ran the poll, says the new tax has caused people in B.C. to cut back on spending. "Twenty-nine per cent of B.C. residents say they are buying much less than before, and 42 per cent say they're buying somewhat less."

Another way to put it -- seven out of ten people in the province aren't spending as much as they used to. And Canseco says they're not happy about it, especially compared to people in Ontario who are also just getting used to the HST. "We haven't seen a lot of complaints coming out of Ontario when it comes to the HST. People are upset, but certainly not as mad as we are here in B.C."

Canseco says the main reason for that anger is there wasn't enough communication between the provincial government and British Columbians.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance says the cost on some of the products remained exactly the same, but poll respondents still said they felt the difference. For example, 76 per cent of people thought basic groceries became more expensive under the new tax, although no HST was applied to this category of goods.