{"id":16583,"date":"2025-02-15T00:52:25","date_gmt":"2025-02-15T00:52:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/torontotribune.ca\/index.php\/2025\/02\/15\/kelowna-restaurants-report-little-to-no-impact-from-2-month-gst-holiday-break-okanagan\/"},"modified":"2025-02-15T00:52:25","modified_gmt":"2025-02-15T00:52:25","slug":"kelowna-restaurants-report-little-to-no-impact-from-2-month-gst-holiday-break-okanagan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/torontotribune.ca\/index.php\/2025\/02\/15\/kelowna-restaurants-report-little-to-no-impact-from-2-month-gst-holiday-break-okanagan\/","title":{"rendered":"Kelowna restaurants report little to no impact from 2-month GST holiday break – Okanagan"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Staff at the Erika Jane Restaurant in Kelowna<\/a>, B.C., were getting ready for one of their busiest nights of the year Friday morning.<\/p>\n

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\u201cValentine\u2019s Day, without question, more people will come through our doors than any other,\u201d said David Bekkering, Erika Jane\u2019s managing partner.<\/p>\n

The love, however,\u00a0 the federal government intended to show restaurants<\/a> with its GST holiday break<\/a> didn\u2019t seem to materialize.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just didn\u2019t see an uptick in sales as a direct result of not paying GST because at the end of the day, we are still paying GST on alcohol,\u201d Bekkering said.<\/p>\n

At the nearby Tran Station Pub, the operators said they didn\u2019t benefit much, either.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hours that we spent on programing and doing it didn\u2019t have an impact on us in a positive way,\u201d said Train Station owner Rhonda Lindsay.<\/p>\n

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The GST break on restaurant meals went into effect on Dec. 15; it concludes on Feb. 15.<\/p>\n

\u201cFive per cent in this market during December and January didn\u2019t move the needle at all,\u201d said Ian Tostenson, president and CEO of the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association.<\/p>\n

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However, according to Restaurants Canada, the tax break on restaurant meals did have somewhat of an impact overall, nationally.<\/p>\n

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The organization said restaurant transactions increased by 7.6 per cent during the two-month period.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the point here is we have a five per cent tax and Ontario is 13 per cent and the Maritimes 15 per cent,\u201d Tostenson told Global News. \u201cSo in B.C.,\u00a0 I think we need a bit of a different prescription.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Tostenson suggested an expansion of things like \u201cDine Out or Dine Around\u201d programs, which offer discounted meals during the slow winter months.<\/p>\n