The countdown to the harmonized sales tax kicks into high gear this week as travellers, exercise fiends and season-ticket holders try to beat a pre-collection May 1 deadline for some services that are paid for up front.
While the HST doesn't take effect until July 1, certain services provided on or after May 1 will be slapped with the new combined 12-per-cent tax starting next month.
For instance, a domestic fight booked in British Columbia by Friday will include the usual 5-per-cent GST after July 1. The same flight booked on Saturday will cost 7-per-cent more, to reflect the new 12-per-cent HST.
Other services getting taxed early include annual gym memberships and tickets to concerts or sporting events taking place beyond July 1.
It's part of the transitional rules the B.C. government is implementing as it prepares to roll out the HST this summer - a move that is creating a frenzy for consumers and companies trying to beat the tax.
Some travel agents say customers have been coming in for weeks buying tickets for summer travel beyond July 1 just to beat the May 1 deadline.
Business is expected to pick up this week for last-minute sales.
"I suspect we'll see a small spike in bookings," said Flight Centre Canada spokeswoman Allison Wallace.
The HST has already been accounted for in the four-play package offered by Vancouver's Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival, said marketing director Diana King.
While the festival starts in June, some of the plays don't hit the stage until after July 1.
Many new home buyers are rushing to market before July 1 to try and save 7 per cent - a trend, along with the threat of rising interest rates, that has reignited the housing market in recent months.
Businesses, from funeral homes and window installers, are also using the pending HST as a way to lure customers into buying now to save money.
As consumers rush to beat the HST where possible, opposition to the tax appears to be growing through petitions and a campaign led by former premier Bill Vander Zalm.
"We hear a lot from consumers on the issue," said Bruce Cran, the Vancouver-based president of the Consumers' Association of Canada.
While the tax is also coming to Ontario on July 1, Mr. Cran said opposition is more pronounced in B.C. because it was introduced by the Liberals shortly after winning the last election.
During the campaign, there was no mention of the tax, which the sssgovernment maintains will make the province more competitive with provinces such as Ontario.
"The main reason people are really upset in B.C. is because they feel they were lied to," said Mr. Cran. "The theory of it might have been a great thing, but not at this time and certainly not in this manner."
Despite the opposition, implementation of the tax appears inevitable, Mr. Cran said.
Some argue the race by consumers to save money before the HST is imposed will create an economic imbalance in the province, with revenues dropping off in the weeks and months after July 1.
"The true economic shift that is going to occur is smaller than people realize," predicted Jock Finlayson of the B.C. Business Council.
He and other B.C. business leaders argue, alongside the government, that the HST will create a tax shift that will save businesses $2-billion. That's because of larger tax credits they can take under the HST model. They argue those savings will then be passed to consumers through lower costs.
"It's true that some services that have been previously exempt are going to face the HST. The tax burden on those will go up, but the cost of producing will go down," Mr. Finlayson said.