For example, a B.C. couple with $200,000 invested in an RRSP who have invested under normal market conditions can expect to pay an extra $175 a year in HST. This leads to an extra $3,500 of tax over the life of the investment, or, if compounded, $6,000. This is an amount of money that matters to every Canadian.
Canadian portfolio managers manage mutual funds across the country that now face different tax rates provincially. Albertan investors in mutual funds will now likely face higher consumption taxes on their investments by virtue of investing in a Canadian mutual fund. This is unfair and we believe was not the government's intention.
Pension plans face similar realities to those of mutual funds. Many people will be paying a lot more consumption tax and yet be completely unaware of the new reality. They will simply get smaller returns for their existing contributions.