“I don’t want to pay online.”
“I can bring cash.”
“Please don’t add tax.”
“Do you have any cash deals?”
“That’s ridiculous. Why don’t you take cash? I’m going to buy from someone else!”
Each week, we get statements like this at-least a dozen times and my response each time is the same:
“No, unfortunately we do not accept cash, and even if we do, tax will be extra.” (we aren’t handling bills during this pandemic).
Now let’s take a step back and understand why these statements from consumers are so common. I’m no financial expert, but for obvious reasons, cash is still a fairly common method of payment for small and medium sized businesses (and sometimes even large ones) including contractors, restaurants, the chaiwala (tea seller), the average buyer, and so on. It is automatically assumed that all businesses including ours will accept cash transactions. At EvoHealth, as much as we are an e-commerce store, we do offer pick up in Mississauga for our GTA customers and have a store where our customers can view products before purchasing. Because of this, we get asked time and time again whether or not we would accept cash so we can help people avoid that dreaded 13% HST *insert dramatic music here*.
Let's clear the air right away: tax evasion is illegal, plain and simple. Don’t get me wrong, that 13% is pretty hefty, and again, because I’m not a financial expert, I won’t comment on whether it is too high or too low relative to other global economies. But for many people, this 13% tax on their purchases can be the difference between just getting by every month or saving up towards the future. I completely get it.
But here’s my take on it and why I believe we should all be working towards paying our taxes and avoiding the cash game. The most important factor for me is healthcare. Like many others, I have unfortunately had various injuries and health issues throughout my life that have resulted in visits to a walk-in clinic, a family physician or a hospital without having to spend one dollar on what I consider the most valuable thing I own - my health. And yes, many will argue that when we pay our taxes (income, personal, HST etc.), we already are paying a portion of our money towards healthcare insurance so it’s technically not free. But guess what? I’m no financial expert so I can’t comment on that either! ;)
What I will say is this: For the average flu or sprain that isn’t life threatening, sure, maybe it wouldn’t be too bad to pay out of pocket once versus spending “huge” amounts of money towards healthcare coverage annually that you may or may not ever use in your life if you’re blessed with good health (extremely unrealistic). But those times when it’s serious, that’s when things change significantly.
For example, 4 doses of chemotherapy can cost the average American between $10,000 - $48,000! That is not spare change that the average person can afford to pay for in a given year. A lung transplant can cost more than half a million dollars in the US if you don’t have health insurance. That’s how much most working class people want to be able to save by the time they retire. Guess how much that would cost us here in Canada? In most cases, $0. The exception is those areas where lung transplants are not done in the region and requires you to move for extended periods to other regions where lung transplants do take place. In that situation, you have to take into account living expenses, rent, etc., making it not entirely “free”.
So when I started thinking about it this way, my mindset completely changed. Imagine a loved one having to go through extreme financial stress during a time when they are most vulnerable, when they may feel like their health is spiraling out of control, only to have to worry about the debt they may go through post intervention. That to me is a game changer. Similarly, I now pay extended health coverage through my car insurance provider (call up your insurance companies and talk to them about this FYI!).
In summary, what I am trying to say is this: we plan to continue to collect HST from our clients so that we can remit that HST annually, and have it go towards a pool of money that can be used by anyone who needs it to manage their health. And if that extra 13% is the difference for you to make a purchase with us versus someone else, I can respect that. But always remember that without our health, we have nothing. If I haven’t convinced you to stop avoiding tax in every transaction that takes place in your life, then hopefully I have convinced you to make your health a priority today.
And for all the immigrants out there myself included who moved to this country for a better future, it’s our duty to contribute to our economy and society. Your tax money is well spent, for the most part (but because I’m no financial expert, I’d love to hear your opinion on this). Our infrastructure, our transit systems and social services (to name a few) all rely on taxpayer money to continue growing and expanding. Pay your taxes, stop trying to avoid every little bit of the evil HST, and continue to work towards improving the Canadian economy and society around us.