Starting July 1, the HST will be applied to parking in Vancouver in what proves to be a tax on a tax.
The HST will push the paid parking tax up to 35.52 per cent, making it the most expensive tax on parking in North America. That's more than Pittsburgh at 35 per cent and San Francisco at 25 per cent.
Back in January, TransLink tripled the tax on parking to help pay for roads and transit.
The HST will have the most impact on monthly parking rates.
Here's an example of how the HST on parking would work. If you pay $100 for monthly parking, the 21 per cent TransLink tax will be applied for a total of $121. The 12 per cent HST will be applied to the $121 for a total of $135.52.
Parking companies such as Impark have noticed that some drivers canceled their monthly passes in January after the increased TransLink tax. This July, the impact may be even bigger.
"The long-term effect is that companies will decide whether they want to be downtown or not," Impark's Julian Jones told CTV News. "It makes it very difficult for them to attract employees and many companies pay for their parking of their employees. That's a major decision when you are looking at 30 or 40 parkers."
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Leah Hendry
