Suspend the Alcohol Tax Hike Planned for 2021 | Dec 9, 2020
Last week, the Conservatives introduced a motion calling for the suspension of the alcohol tax escalator planned for 2021. I was happy to support this Motion so vital to our local economy. Unfortunately, it was defeated in the House.
An automatic tax increase during an economic crisis makes no sense. Small businesses are already struggling to keep their doors open. This tax hurts the bottom-line of our estate wineries, microbreweries, and spirit industry – a key component of our local economy.
On the broader issue, automatic tax increases fail to factor in market fluctuations, cyclical economic downturns, and catastrophic events like the Covid pandemic which has hit the hospitality industry particularly hard. The alcohol tax escalator increase, first introduced by the Liberals in Budget 2017, needs to be suspended in the new year and removed entirely in Budget 2021.
PM Trudeau says this is not the time to increase taxes. Yet, he, his Liberal MPs with the full support of the NDP, Bloc and Greens, voted to defeat our Motion, which also included a suspension of the latest Liberal carbon tax and CPP payroll increases, as well as a call for rapid testing. Businesses need economic stability and to be able to safely stay open. Instead, they have faced unprecedented uncertainties bordering on chaos due to the economic mismanagement of the Trudeau government.