The PST and HST are taxes that became necessary when governments reduced taxes on business interests substantially at the time the Neoliberlal economic ideas were followed . Those ideas were supposed to "  raise all boats " . The only boats raised were for he top 1% and corporations .  These taxes had to be instituted to make up for the tax cuts and subsidies paid to business under these plans . As usual , he average person gets sc----- , not business interests .