TORONTO – Steven Del Duca visited Cataldi Fresh Market to announce that Ontario Liberals will help families cope with rising food costs by removing the provincial portion of the HST on prepared food purchases under $20. The plan will be fully funded by a 1% surtax on companies operating in Ontario whose profits exceed $1 billion a year, and a 2% income tax increase for individuals on income over $500,000 annually.
“Families are being hit hard by the skyrocketing cost of food, all while the richest in our province are getting richer,” Del Duca said. “Our Liberal plan will provide families with immediate relief within the first 100 days of being elected, by lowering the cost of prepared food. We will pay for it with fairer taxes for the richest people and corporations.”
According to Statistics Canada, food prices in Ontario rose 8.2 per cent in the last year, adding yet another burden to struggling families. Ontario Liberals will remove provincial taxes on prepared foods, such as the hot food counters in community grocery stores or a meal at a local restaurant, by increasing the exemption from provincial HST for prepared foods from $4 to $20. With the Ontario Liberal plan, a family at the grocery store can add a hot meal to their carts, such as a rotisserie chicken, potato wedges, or sandwiches and save some tax on their purchase. An office worker can pop-out and grab lunch under $20 and save the provincial HST.
Our plan will also eliminate corporate taxes for small businesses deeply hurt by the pandemic for two years.
This HST policy is the third of six affordability planks in the Ontario Liberal Plan – the first two being a child care rebate of $2,750, which will benefit at least 200,000 families, and a top-up for seniors on OAS of up to $1,000 per year, benefiting almost a quarter of a million seniors. We look forward to announcing further planks in the days ahead.
“Our four new tax changes will help struggling families and small businesses, while ensuring the biggest and richest pay their fair share,” continued Del Duca. “The Ford Conservatives are bent on handing out the most help to those who need it the least. Only the Ontario Liberals have a sweeping affordability plan to help those struggling to make ends meet. My message to voters today is: the choice is yours.”