SMALL FIRMS SEEK TAX RELIEF

A Canadian small business group is calling on the federal and provincial governments to temporarily eliminate or lower fuel taxes. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business says record gas prices, supply chain snarls and labour shortages have pushed the cost of doing business through the roof. It says higher transportation and fuel costs have driven 92 per cent of small businesses to increase prices in the past 12 months.

The business group says governments should make doing business in Canada more affordable by also pausing planned hikes to carbon taxes. It's also asking for the small business deduction threshold to be raised to $600,000 from $500,000, as is now the case is Saskatchewan, and index the threshold to inflation annually. The request comes as Canada's premiers gather at the 2022 Council of Federation meeting in Victoria.