HST opposition shrinking: survey

A majority of British Columbians still want to scrap the HST but that majority is shrinking, according to an online survey by Angus Reid.

The survey indicates 56 per cent of British Columbians would vote to get rid of the tax, compared with 82 per cent who said they would scrap the tax in June 2010.

Last month, before the government promised to make changes to the HST, 62 per cent of committed voters said they would vote against the controversial tax in the upcoming referendum.

The survey indicates animosity towards the HST comes primarily from women, who voted 64 per cent in favour of scrapping the tax; respondents aged 18 to 34, who voted 62 per cent in favour of getting rid of the HST; and respondents living in households with an annual income below $50,000, who voted 59 per cent in favour of extinguishing the HST.

Metro Vancouver voters are divided, but the 'Yes' side is clearly ahead in Vancouver Island, the Interior and the North, according to the survey.

The survey also suggests there is a lot of confusion surrounding the upcoming HST referendum.

The referendum question asks: "Are you in favour of extinguishing the HST in favour of reinstating the PST and GST?"

However, the survey shows many committed voters are confused about which way they're voting.

Nearly 20 per cent of respondents who are ready to vote 'Yes' on the referendum mistakenly believe they are casting a ballot to have the government keep the tax but lower it by two percentage points.

The survey was conducted on June 1 and 2 among 805 randomly selected British Colmubia adults who are Angus Reid Forum panellists. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.4 per cent. The results have been statistically weighed according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of B.C.