Quote:
Originally Posted by Sp0r3
I totally understand the principles of HST which makes it a better than the GST/PST system we had before (in theory). But think about this. The current business owners who requires to pay the intermediate taxes are now free from the burden of extra costs. Will those savings be passed down to the consumers? I think not. Business owners are there to maximize their profit. If the consumer are willing still pay the same price as they did before the HST, the owners will not lower their prices. Which means business owners will get extra profit (as it reduced their cost). So how will the HST help reduce the burden of consumers? The answer is none. In the end, consumers get the short end of the stick and business owners get the red carpet treatment.
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I had the same thought mentality as you before. The reality is, the smaller chain places will likely do this. But, the BIG chain stores will not. They are far more educated and have a better marketing team.
My friend works for Superstore and has told me that their costs are actually passed on to the customers. NOT because they want the customer to save, but because they want to take business away from their competitors.
Because of the extra money in Superstores pocket, they can afford to have more and better sales. Which will attract people to their store over Walmart lets say. She said they still pocket some of the extra cash back they get. But, there is a portion of that, that goes to reducing costs for us the consumer, in the form or reduced product costs and sales.
So for the big chain stores this is their thought mentality. So hopefully you'll notice more sales and better prices when you shop at the big box stores.