The reduction of the small business tax by 0.5 per cent as announced in the June 25 provincial budget is disappointing, says the Kensington and Area Chamber of Commerce.
The government did not achieve its election promise to lower the small business tax rate to one per cent by January 2020.
“Compromise is necessary in this new political era; however, we were hoping for a more middle of the road decision,” said Julia Cameron, executive director of the Kensington and Area Chamber. “We look forward to continuing our partnerships with the other Island chambers, working as a united front, and with all parties to support future small business tax rate reductions and other ways to improve the Island economy.”
The Kensington chamber was pleased with the budget announcement of an investment in the Partnership for Growth, an alliance of 21 business and industry organizations formed to work with government and other stakeholders to develop an economic action plan for P.E.I.
“Projections indicate that P.E.I.’s economy is expected to lead the country. The Chamber is pleased to see the commitment to the Partnership for Growth’s goal in setting a sustainable plan for our economic future,” said Cameron. “As one of the partners, we look forward to taking the next steps to see this become a reality.”
The chamber welcomed the announcement to increase the Basic Personal Amount to $10,000.00. We encourage the government to continue to work toward fulfilling its election promise to increase the Basic Personal Amount to $12,000 and tie subsequent increases to the Consumer Price Index.
The Chamber is optimistic about the budget surplus and plans for a continued decline of the province’s debt to GDP ratio.
