Some courtesy will ease transition

After ballet, I remind my daughter to thank the teacher. The other kids rush out of the room. At the grocery store, my husband gets compliments from perfect strangers on how wellbehaved my kids are.

I’m proud of my kids but when did a child remembering to say “thank you” become remarkable? It makes me wonder about the decline of common courtesy.

Common courtesy is the grease that helps us function happily as a society. Pleases, thank yous, a pleasant tone of voice, a welcoming attitude, all make us want to co-operate. The absence of courtesy leaves us cold and indifferent. Its opposite, rudeness, makes us feel sour.

You can still count on common courtesy from small-business owners who regularly show their appreciation for customers by knowing their names, asking about their kids, making helpful suggestions, answering questions and, of course, saying thank you.

Common courtesy is much scarcer when dealing with government agents. This seems to be particularly true when it comes to dealing with tax authorities. For example, on a recent survey, over half of businesses agreed that they feel intimidated and like they have done something wrong when dealing with the Canada Revenue Agency.

The provincial sales tax is coming back in April. In the past it was voted the No. 1 one regulatory headache of small-business owners, largely due to the complexity of the rules and the attitude of those administering them.

Although things had improved dramatically in the years just prior to the PST being eliminated, many business owners dread the PST’s return, not only because it is a financial hit but because they equate PST compliance with migraines and high blood pressure.

The return of the PST promises to be expensive and time-consuming for businesses even under the best of circumstances. Recent media stories have focused on the number of businesses that still need to register to collect the tax. But registering for PST is just the beginning.

Businesses also need to understand the rules, which can be complex enough in some cases that even the tax authorities themselves have trouble. Cash registers have to be reprogrammed. Price lists need to be changed. None of this is cheap. A Canadian Federation of Independent Business survey of its members estimates the costs to be around $3,000 (roughly the same amount was spent to transition to the HST).

The government has done a number of things to try and make the burden of the PST lighter. For example, based on feedback from business owners, the remittance deadline has been changed to match the GST, and businesses can register with their federal business number.

But the most important thing that the government can do around the PST transition is to reinforce basic common courtesy with front line staff. Helpfulness, combined with a little understanding will go a long way to make this a smooth transition.

Laura Jones is executive vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. She can be reached at laura.jones@cfib.ca.