CFIB calling on federal and provincial governments to lower fuel taxes

Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) data indicates transportation and fuel costs have caused 92 per cent of small businesses to increase their prices in the past 12 months.

by Morinville Online Staff

Canadian premiers are gathered at the 2022 Council of Federation meeting in Victoria on July 11 and 12, and the CFIB is calling on federal and provincial leaders to make doing business in Canada more affordable by temporarily eliminating or lowering federal and provincial fuel excise taxes, and pausing planned hikes to carbon taxes,

They also want to see federal and provincial governments to raise the small business deduction threshold to $600,000 (currently $500,000) to match Saskatchewan, and index that threshold to inflation annually.

“Every cent counts for small businesses, especially as they navigate skyrocketing input costs and labour and product shortages. Three provinces – Ontario, Alberta, and Newfoundland and Labrador – have provided temporary relief at the pumps—now the federal and other provincial governments need to follow their lead,” said CFIB Senior Vice-President of National Affairs Corinne Pohlmann. “More than half of small businesses nationwide have yet to return to normal revenue levels. As the premiers come together today and tomorrow, they need to make small business recovery a top priority.”

CFIB says fuel and energy costs are limiting business growth in 77 per cent of Canadian businesses they have surveyed. Skilled labour is impacting 50 per cent of business, while input product shortages are affecting 30 per cent. The business organization’s current survey indicates 79 per cent of business owners have increased their prices considerably more than normal in the past 12 months.

CFIB has started a petition online asking for more fuel cost relief.

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1 Comment

  1. Then perhaps they need to ensure the savings are passed on to consumers. We just returned from Saskatchewan, where we payed less at the pumps than in Alberta. Oh sorry, I guess we are all about competition and private companies can charge whatever consumers will pay.

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