Nine in ten of Newfoundland and Labrador’s small businesses are saying the cost of doing business is their top concern, followed by taxes (62%) and labour policies (56%), according to recent data from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

“This legislative session provides the provincial government with an opportunity to lower costs,” said Beatrix Abdul Azeez, Policy Analyst at CFIB. “Small businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador are uniquely burdened with a 15% retail sales tax on insurance, the highest in Canada, while their counterparts in other Atlantic provinces do not have to pay such a tax.”

The FIB is calling on government to permanently eliminate the 15% retail sales tax on all insurance premiums paid by small businesses. CFIB is also urging government to increase the small business tax threshold and lower the small business tax rate itself. Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest small business tax rate in Atlantic Canada.