April 9, 2013, Vancouver – For the first time since July 2010, British Columbia
will once again tax all food equally.
April 9, 2013, Vancouver – For the first time since July 2010, British Columbia
will once again tax all food equally.
“Effective April 1, the 2.7 million guests who visit British Columbia restaurants every day will pay less for restaurant meals,” said Mark von Schellwitz, the CRFA's Western Canadian vice-president, in a press release. British Columbians will soon see newspaper advertisements from CRFA reminding them that meals are now seven per cent cheaper and encouraging them to visit the 12,000 restaurants in the province.
Restaurant sales in BC fell dramatically when HST was introduced, the CRFA said in the release. “HST cost BC’s foodservice industry a total of $1.5 billion in lost sales,” said von Schellwitz. According to the CRFA, British Columbia’s cumulative restaurant industry sales grew 1.4 per cent since HST was introduced, compared to sales growth of 11.5 per cent for the rest of Canada during the same period.
The CRFA predicts that the seven per cent tax savings on restaurant meals, combined with more disposable income for consumers, will boost B.C. restaurant sales growth this year. Liquor mark-ups have also been reduced to fully offset the additional three per cent tax on alcohol. “CRFA forecasts that B.C.’s restaurant industry will grow a healthy 5.1% in 2013. That’s good news for British Columbia’s third largest private sector employer,” added von Schellwitz in the release.
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