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Voyageurs' Lodge to close before GST/HST break takes effect

'Nightmare at Christmas': Batchawana Bay business to close for the season early due to the time, energy and money that would go into implementing temporary tax change
20210521-Voyageurs' Lodge and Cookhouse Facebook photo
The Voyageurs’ Lodge and Cookhouse is pictured in this Facebook photo.

A popular business in the Batchawana Bay area is closing for the season four days early due to the upcoming two-month tax break that's been proposed by the federal government. 

This week, the owners of The Voyageurs' Lodge and Cookhouse announced on social media that it will close its general store, gas station and LCBO agency store on Friday, Dec. 13 — the day before the break on both the goods and services tax (GST) and harmonized sales tax (HST) would go into effect. 

Owner Frank O’Connor says he just doesn’t want to be bothered with investing the time, energy and money required to reconfigure his retail point-of-sale (POS) system in order to implement the tax break, which only applies to certain items that qualify under rather complex guidelines laid out by Ottawa.   

“We’d have to bring someone in to do that for us — and then it’s all of the items that are included, all the items that are not included. What a nightmare at Christmas for the retailer who’s stressed out already, and they have to do it because it’s their busiest time of the year, it’s their greatest time for sales,” he told SooToday Saturday. “It’s not rocket science — if they want to give us a break, issue everyone a cheque for whatever the amount is we’re going to save in HST for two months.” 

O'Connor says the proposed tax break has "got to be a pain in the arse," for smaller businesses across the country in particular. 

“Who dreams these things up in boardrooms in Ottawa and puts them into place?” he said. 

The tax break, which would provide GST and HST relief on certain items from Dec. 14, 2024, to Feb. 15, 2025, has been widely panned by the customers that O'Connor has been chatting up at The Voyageurs' Lodge and Cookhouse over the past couple of weeks. 

“They all recognize that the small business merchant is going to be stressed out implementing this. Maybe it’s a lot easier than I think, but I don’t know — that’s just my two cents,” he said. 

A full list of items that qualify for the proposed tax break can found on the Government of Canada website



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James Hopkin

About the Author: James Hopkin

James Hopkin is a reporter for SooToday in Sault Ste. Marie
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