News Releases
Chamber Focuses on HST Mitigation for Victoria’s Economy
August 25, 2009
The Board of Directors of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce has voiced significant concerns for a large portion of our local economy brought on by the HST. At the same time, they recognize that HST is a good move for the overall economy of the province in the long term.
“We know that a move to a value added tax system works for our economy in the long term and is immediately positive for a number of important industries,” says Bruce Carter, Chamber CEO. “However our local concern is that the industries that appears to be most negatively impacted are tourism and residential construction, both of which comprise a large part of our local economy.”
The HST will be implemented in British Columbia on July 1, 2010. “Our role now is to work closely with our industry partners and identify specific ways that the Chamber can support mitigation measures for our local economy,” continues Carter. “We need to get those requests into government as soon as possible.”
Particular areas of mitigation that the Greater Victoria Chamber has identified to date include:
• increasing the new housing threshold from $400,000 to a figure that more accurately reflects the BC market and index that threshold;
• ensure that HST is neutral for municipal government finances so as not to trigger property tax increases;
• the potential for upwards pressure on ferry fees due to increased operational costs for BC Ferries; and,
• specific tourism mitigations yet to be determined with industry partners.
“We have heard from our members at our recent forum that there are specific concerns about areas of the tourism industry, residential construction and housing costs that need to be addressed. We are working hard to identify the places we can have the greatest impact in a timely manner in terms of mitigation measures with the focus of easing consumer confidence,” states Carter.
The Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce has approximately 1500 members and is the voice of business for the Greater Victoria region. The Greater Victoria Chamber has received Accreditation with Distinction from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
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For more information contact:
Shannon Renault
Manager Policy Development & Communications
Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce
Tel: (250) 383 7191 Ext 208 Cell (250) 812-0510
Email: srenault@gvcc.org |
Bruce Carter
Chief Executive Officer
Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce
Tel: (250) 383 7191 Ext 201
Email: bcarter@gvcc.org |
News Releases - 2010
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Conference Board Sees Growth in Greater Victoria (January 27, 2010)
Report Confirms Victoria Needs to Focus on Crime Reduction (January 14, 2010)
News Releases - 2009 
New Publcation Showcases Greater Victoria to the World (December 03, 2009)
Win for the Region on HST Mitigation (November 19, 2009)
Letter of Support for Bill C-304 (November 16, 2009)
Olympians, Kids, and Prodigy members raise funds for The Y Partners with Youth Campaign (October 27, 2009)
Victoria Chamber Calls on Government to Mitigate HST Impacts in 2010 Budget (October 07, 2009)
Victoria Chamber Priorities Win National Support at Canadian Chamber (October 05, 2009)
Victoria Chamber Employee Wins National Recognition! (October 03, 2009)
GVDA Gets More Lift with Airport Authority Funding (September 30, 2009)
Consumer HST Mitigation Good for Small Business (September 01, 2009)
Chamber Focuses on HST Mitigation for Victoria’s Economy (August 25, 2009)
New Publication Showcases Greater Victoria to the World (July 14, 2009)
Greater Victoria Named Top Micro City of the Future (July 08, 2009)
Chamber Calls for City to Provide Business Certainty (June 29, 2009)
Annual Report Shows Why We’re A Natural Place to do Business (May 05, 2009)
Parties State Positions on Local Issues (April 27, 2009)
Chamber Celebrates Outstanding Performance at Chamber Awards (April 21, 2009)
Regional Economic Summit Brings Call to Action (April 07, 2009)
Sasha Angus leads Vancouver Island Economic Alliance (April 06, 2009)
Mooring Dolphins a Good Investment of Government Dollars (March 30, 2009)
Infrastructure Announcement for Ogden Point a Win for the Region (March 30, 2009)
Victoria Leads 2009 Flower Count (March 23, 2009)
Alex Campbell Wins Lifetime Achievement Award (February 24, 2009)
Greater Victoria Highlighted in Island Economic Study (February 23, 2009)
Provincial Budget Brings Mixed Blessings to Capital (February 17, 2009)
Budget Supports Competitiveness and Clean Technology (February 17, 2009)
Heritage Designation costs up to $1 Million (February 13, 2009)
New Partnership to Lead Victoria Flower Count (February 10, 2009)
Infrastructure Projects Should Build Future Capacity (February 04, 2009)
Chamber Assesses Federal Budget Impacts to the CRD (January 27, 2009)
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