HST in BC = Hot Spoiled Tomato
.jpg)
I have recently written a blog post on various definition phrases for HST. It is early this morning, this one may not be the best one that I have come up with. Since the topic is a hot topic and there is negativity, I thought I would add "Hot Spoiled Tomato" - at least for British Columbia.
So why a tomato?
I have chosen a tomato as the metaphor because it starts with the letter "t". However, it is appropriate for other reasons. Tomatoes have been the source of controversy for years. Is a tomato a vegetable or a fruit? In 1893, the United States Supreme Court was asked whether the tomato is a vegetable or a fruit because different customs tariff rates applied. The United States Supreme Court declared the tomato is a vegetable. That being said, few know of this historic decision and the tomato continues to be botanically classified as a fruit.
Another reason for using the tomato instead of a hot potato is that the tomato is a nutrient-rich food. Tomatoes contain many vitamins and health-promoting carotenoid phyto-nutrients, including beta-carotene, lycopene, zeaxanthin and lutein. A raw tomato is good for you.
Businesses in British Columbia benefit from some of the good things in the HST design (for example, input tax credits).
There are studies that suggest that hot tomatoes and sauces and hot foods made with tomatoes have even more lycopene. In other words, even a hot tomato is good for you.
This is where we get to the "spoiled part". How the HST was served to the public in BC did not sit well and there was a groundswell of anti-HST sentiment among the consuming public and some businesses. Something that had good elements was spoiled and the public did not want to consume the consumption tax. The concept of an HST is tainted in British Columbia and it is not clear whether another attempt can be made any time soon.
No matter how you pronounce it - "tomato" or "tomato" - whether it is a fruit or a vegetable - whether it is served hot or cold, whether it is sliced or served whole - there will always be differences in opinion concerning the tomato and the HST.
Cyndee Todgham Cherniak is counsel to and in affiliation with the International Trade Law and the Tax Law (Commodity Tax
This is a creative post. I agree with you that there are good elements in the BC HST (or were good elements) but that after the referendum, that does not matter anymore. I like the way you have looked at the controversy in an amusing way. Keep on posting.
You have picked a very good analogy when picking a tomato. There is so much information about the health benefits of tomatoes. In addition, tomotoes are a great tool in cancer-prevention (especially breast cancer and prostate cancer).
For more information about the antioxidants in tomatoes, go to:
http://www.sharecare.com/question/what-a-tomato http://www.sharecare.com/question/health-benefits-of-eating-tomatoes
http://www.sharecare.com/question/best-way-eat-tomatoes-get-most-lycopene
http://www.sharecare.com/question/can-tomatoes-prevent-prostate-breast-cancer
I like tomatoes, but they also cause acid reflux.