Prior to the pandemic, 88% of our province’s workers were employed by small businesses.
In the sectors hardest hit by the shutdown – including accommodation and food services, non-essential retail, arts and entertainment among others – the negative impact has been staggering.
The women and men who own and work in these businesses are the backbone of our economy. If we want to get the recovery right, we need to help entrepreneurs preserve their businesses, stay open, and rehire workers by providing bold support.
Steven Del Duca has proposed a Small Business Recovery Plan:
- A Three Month Provincial Sales Tax Holiday. To encourage spending at small businesses, all purchases at eligible small businesses would be exempt from the provincial portion of the HST for three months. This will encourage customers to come back and spend – and give our small business a competitive advantage. The revenue for small business and overall stimulus will help to jump start our economy.
- Waive Collection of Payroll Premiums. Ontario deferred payroll premiums for six months – this has created a giant balloon payment that small businesses will have to pay when the bill comes due in September, just as we want them to ramp up hiring. Waiving six months of payroll premiums will go a long way to reducing the burden that small businesses face.
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Availability. Too many businesses are having difficulty navigating the system to procure the proper PPE at a reasonable cost. Others simply can’t afford it. Working with partners, we will create a program to provide PPE at little to no cost for the hardest hit industries to ensure they are able to re-open.