The lead up to the July 1 implementation of Ontario's 13 per cent harmonized sales tax is starting to resemble an election campaign, with the Liberal government pushing back hard against opposition claims the HST amounts to little more than "a greedy tax grab."
Shredders destroying thousands of pages of "red tape" regulations for the old provincial sales tax, forklifts delivering petitions with hundreds of thousands of signatures opposing the HST and a giant countdown clock are some of the props being used in the battle.
With people distracted by everything from summer holidays and the G8-G20 meetings to soccer's World Cup and the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Liberal government has a difficult task of having to explain an entire package of tax reforms.
Standing behind a large paper shredder, Revenue Minister John Wilkinson -- the government's lead salesman on the HST -- said the tax changes are all about creating jobs.
"We have a plan that's going to lead to 591,000 new jobs over the next 10 years because it will lead to $47 billion worth of more investment," said Wilkinson. "We've said to the world that this is a good place to invest and create jobs."
The Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats can deliver their message in simple, clear and effective sound bites tailor-made for the media: "The greedy HST tax grab is going to take even more money out of the pockets of Ontario families."
Opposition Leader Tim Hudak warns people will be paying more for everything from gasoline and home heating fuel to haircuts and gym memberships.
"You also have brides and grooms in your crosshairs for weddings across our province," said Hudak.
"You're going to increase taxes on hall rentals, on DJs and bands, on photographers, on wedding planners and on decorators."
Premier Dalton McGuinty admits people will pay more for energy and services currently exempt from the eight per cent provincial sales tax, but said the government also cut personal and corporate taxes and introduced a $260-a-year tax credit for low income earners.
"I don't want to pretend that it's not going to have an impact, but we've worked really hard to minimize that impact," he said.
McGuinty loves to point out that the federal Conservatives -- many of whom used to be in the Ontario caucus with Hudak -- not only support the HST, but gave the province $4.3 billion to help offset the impact of the tax change.
"I want to take the opportunity to thank the Ontario Conservatives for all of their support and encouragement when it comes to moving ahead with this important initiative," McGuinty told the legislature.
"I thank Minister (Jim) Flaherty, former Minister of Finance (Janet) Ecker, John Baird and Tony Clement. I want to thank former leaders of the party, including John Tory and Mike Harris, for their support for this initiative. I thank Senator (Bob) Runciman, and I thank Prime Minister (Stephen) Harper."
The Ontario government will send out $1.3 billion in cheques to 6.6 million households starting June 10 to offset the impact of the HST in the first year. Families with incomes under $160,000 will get up to $1,000 and singles with incomes under $80,000 will be eligible for up to $300. The rebates will be made in three instalments.
The New Democrats said the majority of people oppose the HST and won't be fooled by government "bribes" with their own money.
"People in this province know that these cheques are a one-time deal and the tax will be there every year going forward, and the HST will cost far more than what the rebates and tax cuts will provide," said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.
"It's funny, when the Conservatives were in power and they gave $200 to everybody, the premier (McGuinty) stood in the legislature and mocked that as a publicity stunt."
The Liberals have vowed to visit opposition-held ridings all month to tout the benefits of the HST, and point out what they say is the hypocrisy of the Tories on the issue.
Finance Minister Dwight Duncan kicked off the offensive last week, going into Hudak's riding and calling the Opposition leader 'shifty and dishonest.'
