Ottawa small businesses brace for uncertainty of holiday tax break

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The HST/GST holiday tax break is only days away, but Rob Krantzberg, owner of the St-Laurent Kiddie Kobbler is still working to get his business ready.

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As a store that sells both adult and kids shoes, Krantzberg said changing their point of sale (POS) system is complicated, “There’s a lot of leg work on our end to make this work.”

The Liberal government’s Bill C-78 comes into place on Dec. 14 and will last for two months. Consumers will be exempt from paying the HST/GST on things like restaurant meals, beer, wine, some children’s toys, some books and newspapers, Christmas trees, and kids’ clothing and footwear.

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Krantzberg said there have been no clear instructions on how he will be reimbursed for the taxes he has already paid on inventory. He will continue paying tax on inventory over the two month holiday break, after which he hopes he will be compensated.

“I’m going to assume come Feb. 15, we end up having a credit of some sort where I imagine the government will owe me money,” Krantzberg said. “Maybe we’re making a bad assumption though.”

He also does not think he will see an uptake in customers as a result of the bill.

He is about to enter the slowest months of the year for the store. While people are still shopping for mittens and hats, the boot season is long over.

“People buy their boots way before the December to February months.”

Rob Krantzberg HST GST tax
Rob Krantzberg, owner of the St-Laurent Kiddie Kobbler. Photo by Jean Levac /POSTMEDIA

In the food and beverage world, there is mixed reaction.

Rob McIsaac, the owner of Beyond the Pale Brewing Company, said although they will have to spend time fixing their POS system, he believes the tax break will be a good thing for his business. “The hope would be, as a business, that the consumers choose to spend some of their money on some of this additional discretionary income,” he said.

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Although January and February tend to be slow months for restaurants he thinks the tax break will help keep drawing people in.

The instructions have been clearer for Ivan Gedz, the owner of Union 613. Food, beer, wine and cider will be a part of the tax break, but hard liquor will continue being taxed.

That said, the restaurant owner doesn’t think the tax break is going to help his business, because people who are going out to eat are primarily people who have money.

“People who don’t have as much aren’t going to spend their money on us, even if there’s a tax break.”

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