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Retail group 'baffled' by July 1 introduction date for GST cut
May 4, 2006
Worth repeating from CBC
Business News:
A group representing Canada's retailers is
upset with the federal government's plan to introduce its GST
cut on July 1.
Diane Brisebois, the president and CEO of the
40,000-member Retail Council
of Canada, said she is "baffled by
the fact that the GST reduction will be effective not only on
Canada Day, a statutory holiday, but also the fact that it is
a Saturday."
"In many jurisdictions, most stores must be closed on July 1 or
face fines for operating on a statutory holiday, with some exceptions
such as designated tourist areas or where municipal bylaws permit,
which creates an unfair playing field and lots of confusion for
consumers," she said.
Brisebois added that retailers may not be able to get technology
and telecommunications help on the long weekend if problems with
the switch to the lower tax rate occur.
The reduction of the goods and services tax from seven per cent
to six per cent means retailers will have to adjust their cash registers
for the new tax rate.
Prior to the budget's announcement, the Retail Council said it
had lobbied for the government to introduce the GST reduction on
a day of slower customer traffic, not a Friday or a Saturday.
In a poll last month of its members, the Canadian
Federation of Independent Business found that adjusting for the change in the
GST will cost small- and medium-sized businesses, on average, more
than $500.
via: CBC
Business News
murmur categories: money
tags: consumers consumer news consumerism shopping GST taxes Canada
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