Retail has reported the lowest level of long-term optimism among industries (41.2) – the seventh month in a row that the index has fallen below 50. A recent CFIB study found that given these opinions, 94% of small firms want the federal government to address rising costs when parliament reconvenes on Monday.
“We’re hearing from members who are concerned about their future and where the economy is headed as they continue to deal with pandemic debt, increasing taxes, inflation and labor shortages,” said Corinne Pohlmann, Senior Vice-President of National Affairs at CFIB .
Reducing the total tax burden (92%), ensuring that labor laws are sensible for enterprises (90%) and assisting employers in dealing with labor shortages (77%) are other issues that small businesses want to see prioritized.
“These challenges are having a crippling effect on their revenues, ability to grow and mental wellbeing. Small businesses need some reprieve,” Pohlmann said.
In a letter to members of parliament, the CFIB urged that the government implement several fiscal relief measures to assist small businesses, including the introduction of a focused Employment Insurance (EI) premium credit for 2023. For qualifying companies, the credit would bring premium costs down to the same level as those paid by their employees.