Nova Scotia balances budget and promises to decrease HST

HALIFAX, April 4, 2013 /CNW/ - With today's budget, the Nova Scotia government promises to balance its budget and lower the HST in 2014 and 2015. The province will reduce spending and cut the small business tax rate by half a per cent to three per cent. This change is offset by a reduction in the small business tax threshold to $350,000, a 5.8 per cent increase in fees, and hidden income tax hikes through bracket creep.

"The government deserves credit for eliminating the deficit and cutting spending," says Luc Erjavec, Atlantic Canada Vice President for the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA). "However, government has to recognize Nova Scotia's tax regime is stifling economic activity and job creation. Our income and sales tax rates are among the highest in the country. Today, every Nova Scotian got a tax hike because Nova Scotia is one of only three provinces that don't index tax brackets."

"We believe the only way government can grow the economy and create jobs is by making the province a competitive place to do business," says Erjavec. "The first step was balancing the budget. Now government must reduce the overall tax burden and costs on businesses in this province."

As Nova Scotia's fourth-largest private-sector employer, the restaurant industry directly employs nearly 30,000 people at more than 1,900 establishments. Twenty-two per cent of Canadians were first employed by the restaurant industry, making it the number one source of first jobs.

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 restaurant industry generates $65 billion annually in economic activity and employs more than 1.1 million people in communities across the country.

SOURCE: Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association

Luc Erjavec, 902-209-0804 (cell) or [email protected]; Prasanthi Vasanthakumar, Communications Specialist, 1-800-387-5649, ext. 4254 or [email protected].