HST having negative impact on restaurants: Survey
Posted August 3, 2010 10:48 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The Canadian Restaurant and Food Services Association says their worst fears about the new Harmonized Sales Tax have been realized. It has only been one month since it came into effect and a survey shows some B.C. eateries are already feeling the pinch.
The concern was there all along, but the survey has confirmed B.C. restaurant sales are down since July 1st. The Association polled over 800 restaurants and found 72 per cent reported the HST having a negative impact and there has been a 10 per cent decline in sales.
Vice-President of the Association’s Western Canada region Mark Von Schellwitz says they tried to warn the government beforehand the HST would hurt the bottom line of many businesses. “This happened before with the GST in 1991. What we’ve been saying to a skeptical government is this is a real concern and the numbers we received from our survey indicate how big the problem of HST is in our industry and how difficult the transition has been.”
Lower sales have also forced nearly 50 per cent of restaurants to cut back on staff hours in order to adjust.
