QUEBEC CITY, Feb. 20, 2014 /CNW/ - Retail Council of Canada (RCC) expressed satisfaction with the government's reliance on reining in spending and staying the course for a balanced budget. RCC would also like to highlight the government's budgeting efforts, especially the avoidance of consumption tax hikes. "Any rise in consumption taxes would undermine the growth of consumer spending by households that the government describes as weak in its budget. Retailers will be pleased to see that the government will not go down that road in an effort to increase its revenues," said Nathalie St-Pierre, Vice-President, Québec of RCC.
In 2014-2015, consumption taxes will bring $17.4 billion - or 18% of total consolidated revenues - into the Quebec government's coffers. Without sustained growth in this item of income, balancing the government's budget will become a challenge.
Other measures announced in the budget speech also elicited RCC's interest. We note that the government has not strayed from its intention to support Quebec-produced foods - a policy also subscribed to by RCC members. "One drawback is the government's intention to control retail book prices - an action we deplore. We had suggested that the government study other avenues before resorting to this measure during parliamentary committee consultations," added Nathalie St-Pierre.
Retail Council of Canada (http://www.retailcouncil.org) is the Voice of Retail. Founded in 1963, RCC is a not-for-profit association that represents more than 45,000 stores of all retail formats, including department and grocery, independent merchants, regional and national specialty chains, and online merchants.
SOURCE: Retail Council of Canada
Maxime P. Leduc
Retail Council of Canada
[email protected]
514-449-3008
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