Queen’s economist Robin Boadway is available to comment on the harmonizing of the retail sales tax in Ontario to the federal Goods & Services Tax.
"The existing Retail Sales Tax (RST) is both very unfair and inefficient. Replacing it with the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) has much to recommend it,” Dr. Boadway says. “The HST does not discriminate against goods in favour of services like the RST does. And it improves Ontario’s competitiveness by removing the RST on business inputs and by eliminating the preferential tax treatment that foreign producers now obtain relative to Ontario firms.”
“It can be made fully fair to low-income persons using the HST refundable tax credit. It is high time it was adopted," he adds.
Dr. Robin Boadway’s areas of expertise include Canadian economic policy, fiscal federalism, tax theory and policy, public sector economics and welfare economics.
If you would like to speak with Dr. Boadway, please contact Jeff Drake, 613-533-2877, jeff.drake@queensu.ca, Queen’s News and Media Services.