Nova Scotia businesses welcome Ottawa’s tax break proposal

Production at Good Robot Brewing Company has continued but  the business has felt the strain of rising costs for a few years.

The company hopes the Federal Government’s recent announcement proposing a temporary removal of GST/HST on certain goods for two months will boost sales.

“Business in our category of consumer-packaged goods like beer, hospitality such as bars and micro-manufacturing has been pretty tough these past couple of years.,” said Joshua Counsil, co-founder of Good Robot Brewing.

The GST/HST break is meant to bring relief on holiday essentials, including groceries, restaurant meals, alcohol, drinks, snacks and children’s clothing until Feb. 15.

“Lower taxes and lower GST on the consumer side means they're a little trepidatious about going and having this Christmas Eve,” said Counsil.

The legislation is expected to be introduced in parliament soon. While the Chamber of Commerce believes the tax break could be meaningful, its overall impact remains uncertain.

“Fifteen per cent is a meaningful amount,” said Patrick Sullivan, president of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce. “Whether that’s enough to encourage people to increase their spending, I think that has yet to be seen.”

The Chamber hopes the tax break will last beyond the proposed two months.

“I think businesses will benefit, particularly over the holiday season,” Sullivan added. “We would love to see lower taxes over on both a personal and corporate level.”

Business owners say they hope the tax break will boost holiday sales while offering some savings to consumers.

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