News Releases
Win for the Region on HST Mitigation
November 19, 2009
Today’s announcement that the provincial government will raise the HST threshold for new housing to $525,000 from $400,000 is good news for Greater Victoria and other urban areas in the province.
“This is welcomed news,” says Bruce Carter, chamber CEO. “The impact of the proposed HST on the overall purchase price of new homes was one of the central focus items in our mitigation efforts. Though we were asking for $600,000, the move to $525,000 is a significant improvement for our region and a huge help for other urban areas as well.”
The Greater Victoria Chamber asked for a threshold increase in their presentation to the Select Standing Committee on Finance in October.
“We are certainly pleased that the government has responded to the concerns of the homebuilders associations, real estate associations and chamber of commerce,” continues Carter. “At a threshold level of $400,000 the HST would have had a significantly imbalanced hit to consumers of new homes. We were also concerned over the ripple effects of the impact including increased housing costs elsewhere in the market and increased difficulty in our region to attract and retain labour. Raising the HST threshold for new housing has lessened those risks significantly.”
The Chamber also called for mitigation measures to address concerns to tourism pertaining to long term fixed price contracts, certainty for destination marketing funding, and the ability to businesses that exceed the $10 M threshold to claim ITCs. The Chamber also addressed concerns about upwards pressure on BC Ferry Fares attributable to the introduction of HST.
Backgrounder – Presentation to Committee
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For more information contact:
Shannon Renault
Manager Policy Development & Communications
Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce
Cell: (250 )812-0510
Email: srenault@gvcc.rg
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Bruce Carter
Cheif Executive Officer
Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce
Tel: (250) 383-7191 Ext 201
Email: bcarter@gvcc.org
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News Releases - 2010
Chamber Supports Borrowing for Replacing Blue Bridge (August 05, 2010)
Have Your Say on Municipal Taxes (July 06, 2010)
Past Chair of Local Chamber Moves up to Provincial Role (June 02, 2010)
Annual Report Shows Why We're A Natural Place for Innovation (June 02, 2010)
Business Vote a Part of Democratic Process (May 26, 2010)
$23 Million Cost to Victoria if Marina Prevented (May 12, 2010)
Chamber Celebrates Outstanding Performance at Chamber Awards (April 29, 2010)
City's Pace on Tax Reduction too Slow (April 08, 2010)
Greater Victoria Medals for Cost of Doing Business (March 30, 2010)
21 Billion Blooms in 2010 (March 05, 2010)
Budget 2010 Brings Few Surprises (March 02, 2010)
Asia Pacific and Digital Investments Good for Victoria (March 02, 2010)
Flower Count Takes Flight at the Airport on Thursday (February 24, 2010)
Prodigy Group Launches New Website to Engage Members (February 09, 2010)
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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