The B.C. Green Party today endorsed the Harmonized Sales Tax, but complained about the way it's been introduced and called for reducing it to 10 percent.

In a news release, party leader Jane Sterk said:

"Greens actually support combining the GST and PST but we also believe fundamental decisions like this ought to be made in the Legislature not by the Premier. ...

"We believe reducing red tape is a way for government to stimulate the economy and simplifying taxation systems represents a step in the right direction. We are concerned about the reduced tax exemptions that will result from harmonization.

"The current PST exemptions have rewarded people for buying energy efficient products and that has helped the green industry sector grow. The Green Party would like to see the current Liberal government work with the federal government to provide HST exemptions for products and services related to reducing greenhouse gases."

In the release, Sterk also called for reducing the HST to 10 percent: "This would reduce red tape for business and keep the overall tax burden down."

Crawford Kilian is a contributing editor of The Tyee.