Simcoe County businesses brace as federal alcohol tax goes into effect
Local businesses are bracing for the Federal Government's increase in alcohol tax.
"We're not happy that there's an increase in the tax because even in downtown Barrie, we've had the pandemic we've had construction downtown, so we've gone through a litany of upheavals," said Colin Johnson, Manager of Donaleigh's Irish Public House.
Although the tax has now been capped at two percent instead of its initial 6.3 percent, some say that's still not enough.
"I think any increase in this time of day is punishment," said Walter Vaz, Heritage Estates Winery and Cidery Owner. "Certainly, we believe that any increase is going to affect us in a negative way in both our winery property and the hospitality."
Vaz said small businesses and the hospitality industry suffered the most from the pandemic, with many still trying to recover.
"We were one of the first to be locked down, we were one of the last to open up. I took on huge debts just to survive and now we're faced in the marketplace where the playing field is being artificially increased," he said.
However, that's just one increase businesses will deal with this year. The provincial government will raise the minimum wage from $15.50 an hour to $16.55 in the fall, a 6.8 percent increase tied to inflation.
"We recently had to deal with a larger jump than that in the server and bartender wage, which just increases the bottom line in the cost of doing business, any further increase in the minimum wage, it's going to hurt us," said Johnson.
Both Donaleigh's and Heritage Estate Winery say they don't plan to raise their prices right now and will find other ways to supplement the increases.
However, if costs continue to rise, they may be left with no other option.
Ontario's minimum wage is set to rise on Oct. 1.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Angst and calls for resting places as Surrey, B.C., pet cemetery development continues
A single headstone is all that remains of dozens of markers for long-buried pets in a subdivision in Surrey’s Newton neighbourhood, where a half-acre parcel bears a large sign announcing the proposed construction of new homes.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.