The refund issue has disappeared from a proposed question set to appear on HST ballots in September 2011, HST critics say.
Former Socred premier Bill Vander Zalm’s group, Fight HST, got more than 700,000 people to sign a petition to ditch the tax.
But Bill Tieleman, strategist for the group, said the petition also demanded the government refund what taxpayers have spent on the HST since it was introduced on July 1.
Despite this sticking point, both HST proponents and critics are mostly satisfied with the ballot question, which was released Thursday.
“We’re happy that (the ballot question is) clear and straightforward,” said Tieleman.
A representative of Finance Minister Colin Hansen, who brought in the controversial tax last summer, said the government also supports the ballot wording.
Despite the perceived omission, members of Fight HST are not immediately concerned.
“We’re not going crazy about it at this point, and we’ve heard that Craig James has said it’s something the government would have to deal with if the initiative voted passed,” Tieleman said.
