BC Film Industry and the HST
BC Film Industry and the HST
Written by Jacquelyn Roth
As someone who works in the BC Film Industry full-time and depends on it as my main source of income, the news (announced in July, 2009) that the BC government was implementing a 12% HST tax was a welcome delight. Not only would this new tax give foreign film and television production companies substantial tax breaks it was also a promise to bring in many more high budget projects adding to the industries already 1 billion dollar a year revenue.
We all know that Los Angeles and New York are the two biggest film and television producers in the world but, people are shocked when the find out that Vancouver is the third largest, and home to an estimated 35,000 unionized jobs. When the tax was implemented in July 2010 the number of jobs jumped drastically from 35,000 to 100,000 in a matter of months, and it was estimated that the yearly revenue would go from 1 billion to 1.5 billion by mid 2012.
In the beginning of 2011 the industry was thriving, but all that came to a halt when in August later that year, the BC government via referendum reversed the HST tax ruling after a gruelling voting period, and reinstated the 7% PST. By doing this, not only have they seriously compromised future productions from being shot here they have also put upwards of 50,000 film and television industry related jobs on the chopping block.
What people don’t seem to understand is all the money that the industry makes goes straight back into the province. Better roads, parks and recreational centers were all constructed with the revenue brought in.
So how will this play out? Time will be the ultimate judge. The B.C. Government has said it will take 18 – 24 months to reverse the process back to the P.S.T. with a cost that could be as high as 3 Billion dollars. Come February 2013 to as late as August, we’ll really see what happens with film and television business.
Have any thoughts on this piece? Be sure to leave us a comment below and add your voice to the conversation. You can follow Jacquelyn on Twitter @JacquelynERoth and us as well at @RockeyShores.
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When the voting was taking place so many people I talked to were angry about the principal of having a higher tax. They didn’t understand how much this tax could help the province, let alone the Film Industry and other small businesses. When you look at the other countries and provinces that are doing better, look at how much taxes they are paying.
The HST is beneficial for many small businesses, and many industries that bring jobs into BC. I live in Squamish, which has seen a boom in the movie business that kept a lot of small businesses afloat while tourism through the valley fell due to the bad economy in the US and Europe. This week alone they are filming 2 movies on my street, which is employing hundreds of people directly and the entire community will be boosted by the branched effects.
When we go back to the PST our poor lose their rebates, low income homes go back to the higher tax rate while million dollar homes get cheaper, and we end up paying basically the same sales tax on the vast majority of goods and services but our government gets less to spend because they have to pay for an entirely separate tax bureau. It is easily the biggest mistake in the past 50 years in BC, and we will feel the effects for the foreseeable future.
There were so many lies and media-manipulation of facts against the HST that it never even had a chance. When Campbell announced it, I was against it. I hated him and wanted him out. When he resigned, I had another look at the tax and saw the multitude of long-term benefits that it would provide …not just to me, but to my children.
Unfortunately, the ignorant but vocal minority decided to listen to an already proven-corrupt former premier while the majority of BC sat back and tried to figure things out.
I believe that there is still a chance to reverse this moronic and stupid decision brought on by the barstool policy makers who voted the tax out. There is a page on facebook called “Petition Against the HST”. It is a good first step to letting those against the tax know how you feel.
There are also some links provided by posters on the page to Pro-HST pages. It’s time for the non-vocal majority to stand up and be heard. As they say, if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.