Ontario government plans new harmonized-sales-tax tax

TORONTO (JN) -- Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty has unveiled plans to reduce his government's debt with a new tax that applies to no goods or services, but simply to retail taxes themselves. The proposed HSTT will initially be set at 10% and will be calculated based upon the value of the tax payable on retail goods and services. The HSTT will be rolled out next July alongside Ontario's harmonized sales tax. "This is really a win-win for the government," said McGuinty. "By raising the tax on many goods and services to 13%, we can tax this 13% itself to recover an additional 1.3%."