Media Alert: Retail Council of Canada to Monitor Budget On Behalf of Ontario's More Than 85,000 Retailers
Toronto, March 22, 2007 – Retail Council of Canada (RCC) will be available for comment and analysis when Ontario Finance Minister Greg Sorbara delivers his government's fourth budget today.
In its pre-budget submission, RCC put forward a number of recommendations, including:
- Substantially reduce the provincial tax burden;
- Remove frustrations and impediments to business and economic growth, and furthermore, examine ways to stabilize spending;
- Develop a ten year, cross-Ministry labour supply strategy to help ensure Ontario's future growth and prosperity is not constrained by labour shortages;
- Expand the Training Tax Credit to include the retail sector, which is Ontario's second-largest employer;
- Work with the federal government to pursue harmonization of the PST and GST. As a first step, initiate a comprehensive review that examines the costs and benefits of such a move;
- Increase the Employer Health Tax exemption threshold to the first $600,000 of payroll;
- Amend legislation to clearly tax or exempt all herbals and naturals based on the Natural Health Product number and end the cycle of taxing based on marketing claims;
- Harmonize provincial recycling programs, and allow retailers to show environmental levies on the sales receipt;
- Implement a "small business lens" in order to institutionalize due regard for small businesses in government processes and practices.
RCC will be closely monitoring the budget for these and other issues affecting the province's more than 85,000 retailers.
About RCC
Retail Council of Canada (www.retailcouncil.org) is the Voice of Retail. It is a not-for-profit association representing more than 40,000 store fronts of all retail formats, including national and regional department stores, mass merchants, specialty chains, independent stores and online merchants.
For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Stephanie Petroff, Manager, National Public Affairs, at (416) 922-0553, ext. 228; e-mail: spetroff@retailcouncil.org.