Winnipeg restaurants not seeing sales boost from GST tax break
Restaurants were promised a big boost in sales during what is normally their post holiday slow down, with introduction of the federal GST tax break.
However, with a month to go with the 5% discount, are Winnipeg restaurants seeing their bottom-line benefit?
“The GST didn’t make a dent,” said George Chamaa, chef/owner of Beaurivage Bistro. “I’ll give you an example, lets say we sell shawarma for $12.99, and its $14.55 for the sandwich, so basically what are you saving, 50 cents, really?”
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“Yes, he has a good point, because what is 5% on 100 dollars, it’s a 5 dollar break,” said Dean Herkert, chef/owner of Bistro on Notre Dame. “So, if I was savvy at all I would have increased by prices by 5% at the time they cut the GST out, but I didn’t do that. But no, it hasn’t been much of a discussion point for many of our guests.”
It’s a far cry from what was forecasted by the federal government at the initial rollout of the break. This, from federal Small Business Minister Rechie Valdez in December, the day after it came into effect:
“This is going to be a big win, you know that restaurants were hardest hit during the pandemic, and they’re anticipating a 5% increase in sales which is about 1.5 billion dollars in revenue with these changes during this tax holiday,” said Valdez.
For Chamaa, he’s actually seen a dip in sales, in what’s usually a busy month for the Beaurivage Bistro.
“I delay them till after Christmas, at least they have something to celebrate, something to enjoy, one night out in January in the cold weather, its perfect. I convince them, they respond well, everything is fine, and I have the best January, this is the worst January I’ve ever seen since I’ve started this business for 11 years,” said Chamaa.
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The federal GST break will remain in effect until February 15th.