A two-month break on the GST has been applied starting next month to help ease the cost of living, but the Duncan Cowichan Chamber of Commerce says there aren’t any savings in the long run.
The announcement was made by the federal government on Nov. 21 in conjunction with a $250 rebate to help provide relief from Dec. 14 to Feb. 15 on certain holiday items at the cash register.
Photo credit: Justin Baumgardner, VistaRadio
Although the Trudeau government says this will help provide relief and more money to residents in the Cowichan Valley.
Chamber president David Vandeventer says it’ll mean more work for retailers.
“What it means is that retailers will have to cease collecting the GST on those products, which means between now and then they’ll have to program their system to not charge those specific items,” he says.
Vandeventer says some businesses in the area could only see a small change when it comes to price point changes, but facilities with more than one of the discounted items would have a lot more work to do when it comes into effect.
“For example, one of the selected items is printed books but doesn’t include magazines or periodicals, so if you’re a bookstore then it’s quite easy to disable your GST collection,” he says. “However, if you’re a store that sells many things, then you’re going to have to adjust your entire inventory
“Some retailers are looking at 12 hours of additional work.”
According to the federal government this exemption will provide an estimated $1.6 billion in federal tax relief, but Vandeventer says he is sure there won’t be any savings with the exemption for the local economy.
“I really don’t see people spending any more money on goods, so it’s going to amount to a net loss for the small business,” he says. “It would be different if it was just the small businesses that were doing it, and it was directing the buying traffic to a local business, but it doesn’t do that.
“All it does is allow the consumer to save a small percentage of what their spending.”
The Duncan/Cowichan Chamber of Commerce says they believe the exemption would be a net loss to the community.
A list of the qualified goods can be viewed by visiting the Government of Canada’s website.
