More work for GST holiday

It’s already a busy time of year to sell toys, and a Kamloops business owner says a federal government plan to provide temporary sales tax relief only creates unnecessary confusion and work for small retailers.

“There’s just not clear enough guidelines — and we don't have enough time to implement it,” said Vanessa Gammel, owner of Tumbleweed Toys.

The federal government has decided to waive its five per cent GST for certain products between Dec. 14 and Feb. 15. The two-month tax holiday was proposed by the Liberal government in an attempt to help make things more affordable for Canadians struggling with the high cost of living.

According to the federal government’s website, shoppers will receive the tax break when they purchase qualifying items.

Gammel said the temporary measure has raised concerns for small retailers, particularly those in the toy and game industry.

“The rules are not clear as to what qualifies and what doesn’t,” Gammel said, adding there are many items which fall in a grey area.

She said she’s been discussing the matter with similar small businesses in Kamloops and all over Canada who are confused with the guidelines and frustrated at the lack of time to implement them.

“There's a lot of us that aren't sure what needs to be taxed and what doesn't. And we've done lots of back and forth in various chat groups about what we think qualifies. And even right now, the CRA [Canada Revenue Agency] can’t give us clear answers,” she said.

She said for a small business, it’s time consuming to figure out how to implement this temporary measure — and especially challenging in the lead up to Christmas.

And when it comes to the administration for Tumbleweed Toys, Gammel said she’d need to change the tax on about 26,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs) — a process which would need to be done manually and individually for each item.

“I'm not a tech-savvy person. My specialty is early childhood education and toys, not computers and that sort of thing, and not taxes, either. So this is definitely a challenge for most small business owners like me,” she said.

Gammel said the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses has been advocating for small businesses, trying to ensure there is flexibility if mistakes are made. She noted big businesses have people employed to work out the details, and smaller retailers don’t have the same access to these resources.

“It’s owner-operator, and they do all of it. And right now, being that it's December, most of us are working on the floor, helping customers. We're not in the office doing those kinds of jobs,” she said.

Gammel said she hopes customers will have patience as stores work to figure out the new process, noting mistakes will likely be made. She said if customers find mistakes, she’s been advised they can contact the CRA for later reimbursement.

Local business improvement associations said they weren’t aware of a large outcry about the temporary GST relief, but other Thompson-Okanagan groups have criticized the federal government initiative, including the Penticton and Wine Country Chamber of Commerce and the BC Restaurant and Food Services Association.

They raised concerns over staff time being spent on training and adjusting point of sale and accounting systems to temporarily remove the GST.