Sushil Kumar Modi: Federal Finance

Parliament Hill Dept: After touring the halls of Parliament Hill for meetings with senior cabinet ministers and public servants, the group of about 50 state and federal finance officials will head to Vancouver, according to Globe and Mail. British Columbia s experience is very important for us, because we personally feel that no taxation proposal can win in a referendum, said Sushil Kumar Modi, who is leading the delegation and is also deputy chief minister of the state of Bihar. Mr. Modi, who spoke to The on Parliament Hill between visits with Canadian officials, said it takes time for people to understand the benefits of a tax change and canadians have more than a few stories to tell. While the Indian public servants are learning about the details of Canada s tax collection system, the finance ministers of Indian states are keenly interested in the politics. The politicians in the group are particularly eager to learn from British Columbia s sales tax experience, because it went so horribly wrong. There, the Liberal government ran into fierce public opposition over plans to adopt the HST, a move that was rejected last year in a referendum that forced the province to return a $1.6-billion incentive it received from Ottawa. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.