CRFA takes HST concerns to B.C. panel

(Mar. 18/11) On the request of B.C.’s Independent HST Panel, CRFA provided a submission comparing the financial impacts of the harmonized sales tax with that of the old PST/GST system on the province’s foodservice industry.

Appointed in January by the provincial government, the panel – chaired by Jim Dinning, Chairman of Canada West Foundation – aims to provide British Columbians with a fact-based analysis on the implications of keeping the HST versus returning to PST/ GST, with its final report due in April.

In our submission, we:

acknowledged the merits of HST for other business sectors, but explained its unique negative impact on B.C.’s foodservice industry relative to the old PST system where restaurant meals were exempted to treat all food equally;
discussed the impact of HST on consumers and examined sales taxes on restaurant meals in other jurisdictions; and
summarized actions government could take to offset the HST’s negative impact on the foodservice industry as an alternative to returning to PST/GST.

Click here (PDF) for a copy of CRFA’s submission to the Independent HST Panel.

For more information, contact CRFA’s Western Canada Vice President Mark von Schellwitz at 604-685-9655 (toll free 1-866-300-7675) or mark@crfa.ca.

CRFA's British Columbia Lobbyist

CRFA takes HST concerns to B.C. panel