For Immediate Release
March 12, 2009
PC Caucus joins Barrett’s call for sales tax holiday
on new cars and trucks
Queens Park – MPP Barrett’s call for a tax holiday on new cars and truck took centre stage today as PC Caucus members held a news conference to push government to act on the proposal.
Barrett, Economic Development Critic Ted Chudleigh and members of the PC Caucus called on the McGuinty Liberals to implement a three-month Provincial Sales Tax Holiday on new car and truck sales immediately.
“Through my office we distributed petitions- I visited car dealerships over the Christmas holidays, and given the support for the idea, wrote a letter to Ontario’s Minister of Finance on January 15th requesting the Ontario Government implement a sales tax holiday immediately,” Barrett told reporters. “At this point in time, I have not heard back from the Minister.”
Since Barrett’s petition, a number of caucus colleagues have joined in fielding their own petitions calling for similar action.
“Like most Ontarians, auto dealers and consumers right across the province are struggling to make ends meet,” said Ted Chudleigh,. “This is an easy, practical step for the government to take – it’s time to get the motor running on auto sales in this province again.”
Given the relationship of auto sales to steel production and manufacturing, the sales tax holiday proposal would be one immediate step aimed to kick-start primary industry.
The PC Caucus proposal has the full support of groups such as the Toronto Automobile Dealers Association, the London and St. Thomas Automobile Dealers Association and the Ontario Automobile Dealer Association.
Barrett went on to stress the importance of encouraging the Ontario government to further reach out to the federal level, “both Canada and the United States, and the state level – to encourage consideration of this idea, ever bearing in mind that 85 per cent of our auto production is shipped to the U.S.”
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For more information, please contact MPP Toby Barrett at:
(416) 325-8404,
(519) 428-0446 or 1-800-903-8629
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