XPost: can.politics, can.general, ont.politics   
   XPost: bc.politics   
   From: kenny58@excite.com   
      
   Harper Tories in on HST: MPP   
      
   Feds providing $4.3B incentive fund to allow McGuinty Grits to give out   
   $1,000 cheques   
      
   By ANTONELLA ARTUSO, QUEEN'S PARK BUREAU CHIEF   
      
    Stephen Harper Conservatives are pretending they had nothing to do with the   
   controversial plan to blend the federal and provincial sales tax in Ontario,   
   Tory MPP Bill Murdoch says.   
      
   "They can't divorce themselves away from this," Murdoch told Sun Media.   
   "They're part of this whole scheme."   
      
   Conservative MP Larry Miller, who represents the riding of Bruce-Grey-Owen   
   Sound, wrote about the issue in Sun sister paper the Owen Sound Sun Times   
   last week.   
      
   "First, I want to make it clear that this was a change initiated by the   
   Province of Ontario and was not a decision made by the federal government in   
   any way," Miller writes. "I understand the many concerns expressed by my   
   constituents about the new harmonization increasing sales taxes on Ontario   
   residents. (Premier Dalton) McGuinty must not only commit to maintaining as   
   many exemptions as possible; he must also commit that the change to the new   
   tax system will be revenue-neutral with the old."   
      
   McGuinty announced in his spring budget he would be harmonizing the 5%   
   federal and 8% provincial sales taxes into one 13% tax, extending the PST to   
   more items and services, as of July 1, 2010.   
      
   To ease consumers' pain, the provincial government is sending out $1,000   
   rebate cheques to most families across Ontario, and also lowering personal   
   income taxes.   
      
   TAXPAYER GOODIES   
      
   The McGuinty government is paying for these taxpayer goodies out of a $4.3   
   billion incentive provided by the Harper government.   
      
   "So I don't know where the federal people can say they have nothing to do   
   with it -- it's their invention," Murdoch said. "And it's wrong for the   
   province to take it, that's right, but the feds can't get away from this.   
   They're in it together."   
      
   Miller was not available for comment, but in his article he does say that   
   there are "some positives to this change that should benefit Ontario   
   businesses."   
      
   Provincial Conservative Leader Tim Hudak is leading his party's opposition to   
   the HST -- pointing the finger of blame squarely at McGuinty, not Harper.   
      
   Murdoch, who represents the provincial riding of Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, said   
   his constituents are very much against the tax which will mean adding 8%   
   sales tax to items like rent and home heating fuel.   
      
   "The only people that really support it are the chambers of commerce and I   
   can't find anybody in my riding who belongs to the chamber of commerce that   
   supports it," he said.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)