(OTTAWA, ON) - Come July 1^st, 2010 Ontarians paying for funeral services will be forced to pay anywhere between $650-$1,300 in taxes for remembrance services.

Ontario PC Revenue & Government Accountability Critic, Lisa MacLeod was joined today by Brian McGarry, from McGarry Family Chapels, to highlight the impact the HST will have on the cost of funeral services.

On July 1^st, funeral services will be subject to the harmonized sales tax which will mean additional costs to families grieving the loss of a loved one. Lawyer fees to administer a last will and testament, estate planning, floral arrangements, catering services and other funeral-related costs will now be subject to Dalton McGuinty's harmonized sales tax.

 Quotes:

 "On July 1^st it will not only get more expensive to live in Dalton McGuinty's Ontario, it will also get more expensive to die in Dalton McGuinty's Ontario."

-- Lisa MacLeod, MPP Nepean-Carleton, Ontario PC Critic for Revenue and Government Accountability

 "The HST coming into effect July 1^st is promoting a huge negative reaction from the funeral/cremation purchasing public. ‘Now its death and increased taxes at the same time...' many are saying. Mid-range to older citizens are prepaying cremation and funeral services now to lessen the burden of an 8 per cent increase as of July 1^st, 2010."

-- Brian McGarry, CEO McGarry Family Chapels/ Cremation Services Ottawa

 Quick Facts:

• Come July 1^st, 2010 when the HST is implemented, remembrance service items such as the cost of funeral services, monuments, cemetery plots and flowers will all see an 8 per cent tax hike at point of purchase.
• According to the Board of Funeral Services, the average cost of a funeral in Ontario is around $5,500 - but when you add up the flowers, reception, and casket that cost goes up to $9,000-$10,000.
• When the HST comes into effect later this year, a $5,000 funeral will cost $650 more in taxes, while a $10,000 funeral will cost $1,300 more.
• The National Citizens Coalition states the HST will cost the average Ontario family at least $1,000 more per year.
• In a poll, conducted for Canwest News Service by Ipsos Reid last December, more than 74 per cent of Ontarians oppose the implementation of the HST on July 1^st. Ninety per cent of respondents said they believe the HST is nothing more than a "huge tax grab by the provincial government."
  
  

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