AMHERST – Amherst retailers concerned about the impact of a proposed hike in the HST have the support of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
The organization’s acting Atlantic vice-president feels government is moving too quickly at considering a tax increase to solve its deficit problems when it should be looking at itself and how it spends money.
“We are very much aware of the situation faced by business in the Amherst area and along the border with New Brunswick. It’s not only an issue there, it’s an issue province-wide,” Judith Andrew said.
“Nova Scotians are already among the highest taxed in Canada and while New Brunswick is more competitive and is lowering its taxes, Nova Scotia is looking to raise theirs.”
Andrew said the tax load in the province is making it difficult for small and medium-sized businesses to survive and the thought of raising taxes should be seen as a disaster.
The acting vice-president has spoken to retailers in the Amherst area and understands their concerns.
“It’s sort of the canary in the coal mine. You see the impact it’s going to have and everyone is going to take a hit,” she said.
“Why the government thinks the answer to the budget question is to raise taxes is just beyond us.”
Finance Minister Graham Steele brought his Back to Balance tour to Amherst earlier this week. His visit comes as area retailers are cringing at the possibility of trying to compete with New Brunswick with a two per cent increase in the HST.
Quoting the province’s financial reviewer, Deloitte, Andrew said expenses in this province have increased between 6.2 and 8.9 per cent annually.
She said this province holds the distinction of increasing spending by more than most other provinces between 2004-09.
Normally, Steele would follow the lead of his predecessors and raise taxes, but Andrew is urging him to consider other measures without risking the competitiveness of business in this province.
“As Jean Baptiste Colbert, finance minister to Louis XIV observed, ‘The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to get the most feathers with the least hissing.’ Well, Nova Scotians are hissing and rightly so. They know the MLA expense scandal is more than just a drop in the bucket,” Andrew said, adding the CFIB is proposing eliminating the deficit over the medium to long term.
dcole@amherstdaily.com
