Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli says Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Ontario Liberals are sending a very clear signal that they don’t trust home-based business people.
Fedeli says the proof is found buried deep in the March budget in a section that that will force this group to buy electronic cash registers.
Fedeli says the registers record the sales and the transactions are then sent to the province within a set period of time.
“The government calls it the Revenue Integrity Act but the reality is they don’t trust you to pay your taxes.” Fedeli said.
“Most people live by the rules and declare their income and pay their taxes.”
Fedeli says he’s talked to the Ontario Convenience Store Association where he learned the cheapest electronic cash register costs around $3,000.
He says this is a big expense for people with home-based businesses to shoulder.
“It’s an assault on businesses and another example of the Premier’s continued war with small business people in Ontario,” Fedeli said.
Fedeli says the government will be giving itself power to make sure business people are complying with the Act once it’s passed.
“If you have a business in your home and the government suspects you’re not using an electronic cash register, you can expect them to get a warrant and enter your home,” Fedeli said.
The Tory MPP adds failure to comply can result in a fine as high as $10,000.
Moose News contacted the Ministry of Finance over Fedeli’s claims.
In an email, a spokesman with the ministry’s media department said the electronic cash registers are being introduced to home-based businesses to catch more people engaged in the underground economy.
The ministry says this is very evident in the hospitality and retail areas.
The ministry refers to the issue as Electronic Sales Suppression (ESS) where sales are manipulated with the intent of underreporting income and by extension avoid paying their fair share of taxes.
The ministry says Ontario loses about $500 million a year as a result of ESS activity.
It adds this is money that could have been applied to programs like healthcare and education.
Once the Act is passed and the implementation period begins, the province says there will be a reasonable transition period plus financial or other supports for businesses will be considered.
Fedeli says so far the regulations that identify what kind of businesses will have to comply with the Revenue Integrity Act have not yet been established.
