PST continues to plague small businesses

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It has been six months since the PST came back into BC and it’s bringing back some old problems for small businesses.

Dan Cassivi with Abby Locksmith is one of several owners who says he’s losing money.  Many are lobbying for a PST credit on machinery and equipment purchases.

“It’s the same way that it helped us when we had the HST.  It would give us more money to use in infrastructure upgrades, vehicle upgrades, and in an essence it actually helps us,” explains Cassivi. “That’s a seven per cent increase in cost.  On a whole in this economy, a seven per cent increase on some businesses that is quite a bit.”

Cassivi says it’s impacting his bottom line and he’s worried it could get to the point where he has to lose an employee.

And it’s not just money, there’s the burden of more paperwork and having to be a lot more careful with exemptions. Cassivi says any little mistake could bring in an audit.

It comes as BC drops from fourth to seventh in how friendly the tax system is to small businesses.

BC has a rating of 5.65 while Alberta tops the list at 8.53 and Quebec is last at 3.97.

Mike Klassen with the CFIB in Vancouver says the return of the PST “has played a large role in dragging the province down three spots.”

“A complicated and costly tax system burdens small business owners, and is a barrier to economic growth and job creation,” says report author Marvin Cruz.

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