Stouffville small businesses not impressed by Trudeau's tax cut

YorkRegion.com
Oct. 16, 2017
Simon Martin

Mario D’Addese stood at the window of Fame Men’s Hairstylist Oct. 16 to catch a glimpse of the show. The barber and owner of the shop on Main Street in Stouffville watched as a crowd gathered in front of Pastaggio Italian Eatery to greet Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

He was on hand with cavalcade of high profile ministers, including Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Markham-Stouffville MP and Minister of Indigenous Services Jane Philpott, to announce the federal government’s plan to reduce the small business tax rate from 10. 5 per cent to 9 per cent in 2019.

“This tax cut will support Canada’s small businesses so that they can keep more of their hard earned money,” Trudeau said at the news conference. Finance Minister Bill Morneau said the move could give small businesses in Canada up to an additional $7,500.

The announcement came after the federal Liberals received extensive criticism from special interest groups, namely doctors and farmers, for proposed changes to the tax system.

“We know that our current system just isn’t fair. It rewards people who are successful more than it rewards people who are working hard to be successful,” Morneau said.

As Trudeau left Stouffville in his black motorcade, D’Addese was still the window watching.

He said the 1.5-per-cent cut would change very little for him. The municipal property tax on his business has gone from $3,400 when he moved in to $15,000. Increasing hydro and water rates have also put the squeeze on. “I have to work an extra hour. Do two more haircuts,” he said.  The 1.5-per-cent cut will amount to very little actual money back in his business, he said.

Just as D’Addese finished talking, Morneau walked into his shop, shook his hand and told him the government was lowering his taxes. D’Addese informed the minister his costs were going up regardless of the announcement. Morneau told him they couldn’t solve everything.

“He certainly got out of here quick,” D’Addese said with a laugh.

It was much the same story at Velvet Sunrise Coffee Roasters on Ringwood Drive in Stouffville. A pleasant espresso aroma wafted out of the backroom where Mark Hayward was roasting a fresh batch of coffee beans. The proposed tax cut represents very little actual money for Velvet Sunrise, Hayward said.

“It’s not that much because we don’t make a lot of profit,” he said.

Last year, he said they paid more than $3,000 in taxes to the federal government. He’s far more concerned about a proposed increase in minimum wage and the spiking hydro rates than the federal small business tax rate. That’s not to say Hayward didn’t think the tax cut was a good thing. It just doesn’t end up making much of any difference for him in the grand scheme of things.