Although the government of Ontario recently chose to exempt low cost meals and items (those under $4) from the Harmonized Sale Tax (HST), restaurateurs warn that prices may still rise. Tim Horton’s, along with several prominent fast food chains and other countless small time businesses, has joined together with the Canadian Restaurateurs Food Association to protest the implementation of the HST. Posters and petitions for the ‘No Meal Tax’ have become a mainstay in Tim’s and other establishments across the provinces of BC and Ontario, with the website stating that the group has collected nearly 137,000 signatures.

While Ontarian’s are no longer looking at paying the added tax on items under $4, those exemptions have yet to be passed in BC, which means residents just might face an extra 7% when it comes to their favorite coffee. BC, on the other hand, is exempt from the costs of heating and hydro, costs which could effectively drive prices up on more than just menus.

Opposition towards the new tax is growing steadily and as the date for implementing the new tax is closing in, the time has never been better to join together to voice our discontentment. This is about more than coffee and doughnuts (though we care about those as well), as citizens we cannot allow our government to to coerce us into an unfair tax. The following statement from www.nomealtax.ca sums it up perfectly:

“If you don’t speak out against the new meal tax you’ll be paying 12% (13% ONT) on your bill for every bite you eat in or take out. That’s an additional 7% (8% ONT) tax on top of the 5% you already pay for food at restaurants and coffee shops. Everything from coffee to lunch at the campus or pizza with the kids. Gulp! Thousands of restaurant jobs could go down the drain as well. So petition your MLA or MP and get involved.”