Peninsula News Review

The provincial govern-
ment has put on hold the
time line for implementation
of Section 56 of the Social
Services Tax.

For the past year the gov-

ernment has been working
on the section, which is
aimed at closing a loophole
in a 1994 legislation that
governs how long out-of
province RVs and boats can»
be in B.C. without being
subjected to the seven per
cent tax.

Section. 56 tightened the

amount of time boats, in par- -

ticular, were allowed to be in
the province without paying
the tax from: a 12-month..
continuous period, to 12 out
of an 18-month period. —
But with a coordinated

- outcry from the marine in- .

dustry and businesses
around the province, the
NDP... government © has

“amended the ‘date that it —

-was scheduled to come into
effect from April 1, 2000 to

an undetermined date.

- ‘According. to ‘the Min-”

istry. of Finance and Corpo-

"rate Relations, the. purpose

:. of Section 56 was to ensure
that non- ‘esidents aré not
fe able to ‘avoid: the tax tha’
~ B.C. residents have to pay. It
was’ also designed’ to level:

the playing field for B.C.
. their boats -back South, "8
“ Maureen Fowles said.

And: she points out that:

boat buyers and sellers.
But Sidney businesses,

--arine and otherwise; were:

uneasy about the effect of
the bill.
- Maureen

activated

: : 1. . ‘Beacon Books & Collectables
- Ecloctic selection of $¢@ ond hand hooks

and collectable

aa72 Beacon Avenue ® 68 47

and .. Doug
‘Fowles look after boats for
absentee owners, and they.
believe if the bill-had been
their . business.
~ would have been. deci.

“Marinas are full now, but a proposed government tax could have changed that.

of seople would have taken.

even though her customers

are not paying the tax, they
are contributing to the econ- —

omy.

“These people have a lot.
- of disposable income. They |

contribute a fair bit to our.»
economy —they mightrent = «
~-acarand drive upisland, eat

5. The Mysto Book Shop

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ROD MCLEAN PHOTO

“with: the amendment. in
place to put. the legislation
on hold:

One of her counterparts
in the marine ‘industry,
Mark Dickinson of Vani Isle
Marinas, echoed the same
sentiment. :

“The spin-offs from the in-

dustry for the. restaurant,
liquor and~ grocery. sales,

been a tax on

at repairs, fuel and moor-.

forcement of the tax. _

Out of 528 moorage
berths, Dickinson rents 116
spaces to out-of-province in-
dividuals.

“This tax would have
tourism.
These folks would have just
left — they don’t have to
stay here.”

He believes that if the
rules had come into effect
he would have had to lay off
some of his employees.

Clive Tanner, president of
the Saanich Peninsula

“Chamber of Commerce, is

also supportive of the gov-
ernment’s decision to take a

second look at the issue.

“In asmall town like this,
the repercussions from one
business area hurting re-
flects all the way through
the economy — the whole
economy here would have

- been affected some way,” he

said.

if the tax had gone ahead
the local area: would. have

Jost $30 - 40 million a year. .
“And with the. change, _
“Dickinson is hopeful that
both he and the industry |. '
~ will be able to persuade th
government of the merits of

not pursuing the change
“Yam confident that

Dickinson estimates that ©

*“" BENINSULA NEWS’ ‘Review 5

irport
expansion

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

claim addition.

Stage 2: Sept. 18, 2000 -
June 18, 2001 — New lower
holdroom.

Stage 3: March 30, 200] -
Oct. 4, 2001 — Area occu-
pied by the car rental oper-
ators/Canada Customs.

Stage 4: Aug. 6, 2001 -
March 22, 2002 — Centre
core, including pre-board
screening, _ retail, . upper
level holdroom and obser-
vation lounge.

Stage 5: Jan. 2, 2002 -
April 30, 2002 — Baggage
handling area.

- Stage 6: March 1, 2002 -
June 28, 2002 — Passenger
~ check-in area.

| 2001 — West baggage
|
|

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