K-W Contractors Call on Voters to Support Candidates Committed to Scrapping Trades Tax

WATERLOO, ON, Aug. 28, 2012 /CNW/ - As the Kitchener-Waterloo candidates charge towards Election Day, the Grand Valley Construction Association is asking citizens to get informed and send a message to all candidates that the Ontario College of Trades should be shut down and the new trades tax should be scrapped.

"The Ontario College of Trades proposed fees amount to an $84 million tax grab that will affect homeowners and tradespeople across Kitchener-Waterloo," said Martha George, President of the Grand Valley Construction Association (GVCA). "It will drive up costs for everything from a haircut to a new roof. We're encouraging voters to make stopping the tax and shutting down the Ontario College of Trades their number one priority when deciding how to vote."

With over 650-member companies from across the region, the GVCA calls on all residents of the Kitchener-Waterloo riding - particularly tradespeople - to vote for a candidate willing to protect tradespeople and scrap the $84 million trades tax. The GVCA has submitted a questionnaire to the Green, Progressive Conservative, Liberal and NDP candidates to find out where they stand on the issue. "I encourage voters to ask candidates directly where they stand on this job-killing initiative," says George.

The GVCA officially joined the Ontario Construction Employers Coalition and its Stop The Trades Tax campaign last month.

"The way we see it, the Ontario College of Trades is another layer of bureaucracy that is imposing yet another tax on tradespeople and employers who already pay licenses and countless other fees to the government," said Sean Reid, Chair of the Ontario Construction Employers Coalition. "It's a double tax, and we're going to fight it every step of the way."

The Ontario College of Trades is proposing to begin collecting its tax on January 1^st through the following annual membership fee ranges: $50 - $100 for Apprentices; $100 -$200 for Journeypersons; and $100 - $600 for Employers depending on whether they are small, medium or large.

For more information on how tradespeople across the province are working to scrap the trades tax and shut down the Ontario College of Trades visit www.stopthetradestax.ca.

SOURCE: Ontario Construction Employers Coalition

Jessica Georgakopoulos, Playbook Communications, [email protected]
416-994-7901

Martha George, GVCA [email protected] 519-622-4822 x 23

Sean Reid, Progressive Contractors Association of Canada and Coalition chair, [email protected] 905-802-1003.