Retail BC applauds Ottawa’s announcement to improve retail competitiveness with today’s GST cut effective January 1st 2008, and calls on the BC government to match the move with a one point PST cut this year.
“The GST cut is welcome news to consumers as well as Canadian retailers who are working to make their prices more competitive with the US,” said Mark Startup, president and CEO of Retail BC. “Our goal is to keep Canadian consumers at home and today’s cut makes Canada a more attractive place to shop.”
Retail BC called on the BC government to give serious consideration to matching Ottawa’s string of sales tax cuts.
“BC families and border communities deserve a break,” said Startup. “A combined federal and provincial sales tax cut would ease the financial burden on high-mortgaged BC families and curb the flow of cross-border shoppers to Alberta.”
Startup credited the Campbell government for trimming the PST to seven from 7.5 percent in 2004 and encouraged the government to forge further ahead.
“The experience proves that governments have nothing to lose by trimming sales taxes,” Startup said. “The 2004 PST cut paid for itself. While the government anticipated a dip in revenues, the outcome was better than expected. PST revenues have outstripped forecasts year after year.
Retail BC is the voice of over 3,000 retail companies within British Columbia. BC’s retail industry generates over $50 billion in sales and employs over 250,000 British Columbians.
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For further information, contact:
Mark Startup
President and CEO T: 604-730-5252 M: 604-970-0489