Metro Vancouver businesses asking for patience, some opting out of GST tax break

Check that receipt — it seems the adjustment period for the GST holiday isn’t going smoothly for some Metro Vancouver small businesses, with some even opting out of the temporary federal sales tax break for consumers.

That has led to confusion for some customers and a plea for patience from the small business community.

A Burnaby resident tells 1130 NewsRadio he was upset after being charged GST on his meal at a local restaurant Saturday, claiming that when he complained, he was told by staff that buffets don’t count.

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They do, and the man says it took threats of approaching the media before he had his $2.70 refunded.

Meanwhile, another small restaurant in Vancouver is among businesses opting out of offering the tax break to customers, arguing it’s costly and confusing.

“Because it’s not a holiday tax relief for us — we continue to pay GST on our rent, our gas, our electricity,” said owner Gino Bercan.

“So I said ‘Nah, we’re not doing it.’ We continue to pay GST on it, and we pay and we write that off against what we collect. It’s going to cost us money,” he told CityNews.

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“I can’t see why it has to be a nickel and dime thing here and nickel and dime thing there. It’s either all or none. It’s complicated — way too complicated.”

It turns out, Bercan is allowed to opt out of the initiative, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

“It is not mandatory for businesses to participate, which means they can continue to operate and collect taxes like normal but, of course, they have to remit taxes like normal,” explained Ryan Mallough, the CFIB’s vice president of legislative affairs.

“It does become an option and really a business decision on competitiveness if they can afford to do it versus their competitors who are doing it,” Mallough added.

The CFIB is also asking customers for patience as businesses offering tax break figure out how to properly administer it.

“Business owners were given just two weeks to prepare, right in the middle of their busiest season,” said Dan Kelly, CFIB president. “For some small retailers, this has required going through and making judgment calls on thousands of items based on limited guidance from the Canada Revenue Agency.”

Kelly calls it a hot mess.

“This temporary tax change has created brand new tax categories that have never existed before, including differential sales tax rates on toys marketed at adults or children, drinks based on their percentage of alcohol, or collectible dolls versus dolls for play,” Kelly explained. “Consumers will bring their own interpretation, expecting part-time clerks and store owners to have become sudden tax experts on rules that even CRA is struggling to sort out.”

The CFIB has created a sign for businesses to place on their front counter asking customers for understanding during the first few days of the tax break, including not expecting a clerk to be a tax expert, asking them to override the point-of-sale system, or calling the manager or owner before finalizing a purchase.

It also asks consumers to take up any complaints or questions with their Members of Parliament, rather than small business owners.

With files from Angela Bower.