Nova Scotia budget: Some nuggets, but few meet restaurant needs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 5, 2011
HALIFAX – Faced with a significant deficit, the Nova Scotia government has introduced a budget that does little to help the restaurant industry grow and prosper.
“The government is beginning to get a handle on spending, but is still relying on new revenue from the HST and high tax rates to get back to balance,” says Luc Erjavec, Atlantic Canada Vice President for the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA). “While a slight reduction in the small business tax rate and a one-time increase in the basic personal tax exemption are good, small steps, they pale in comparison to the impact of the HST increase, fee hikes, and growing labour costs.”
“Nova Scotia’s tax climate continues to be one of the worst in the country, and this budget does nothing to help make our businesses more competitive,” says Erjavec.
Nova Scotia’s restaurant industry:
- is one of the province’s largest employers, with more than 30,000 employees;
- employs more than 12,000 people aged 15 to 24, representing 18% of total youth employment;
- generates total sales of $1.6 billion, representing 4.4% of the province’s GDP; and
- encompasses close to 2,000 restaurants, caterers and bars.
According to a recent Ipsos poll for Kraft Foodservice Canada and CRFA, 22% of Canadians were first employed by the restaurant industry.
CRFA is one of Canada’s largest business associations, with more than 30,000 members representing restaurants, bars, caterers, institutions and other foodservice providers. Canada’s $60-billion foodservice industry employs more than one million people in communities across the country.
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