Mechanics & auto dealers demand McGuinty government Stop The Trades Tax

TORONTO, Dec. 5, 2012 /CNW/ - Over a thousand automobile dealers and 10,000 auto sector tradespeople across Ontario joined the Stop The Trades Tax campaign today. The trades tax will cost tradespeople and employers millions, kill jobs and drive up the cost of services like home renovations, car repairs and getting a haircut.

"It's already hard enough to find work in today's sputtering job market," says Todd Bourgon, Executive Director of the Trillium Automobile Dealers Association. "This is going to cost tradespeople more to do their jobs and employers more to create jobs. We really believe it will discourage young mechanics from finding work. This tax is going to kill automotive jobs and hurt businesses."

The Stop The Trades Tax campaign was launched by the Ontario Construction Employers Coalition in response to plans by the McGuinty government to impose a new tax on Ontario apprentices, journeypersons and employers starting this spring.

Since it launched in 2011, the Campaign has grown to 24 organizations whose members represent more than 7,450 small, medium and large Ontario businesses and over 127,200 skilled tradespeople across the province. The campaign is supported by tradespeople and business owners who fix our cars and roads, cut our hair, and build and renovate our homes and hospitals.

"This trades tax will make everything more expensive for Ontarians," said Campaign Chair Sean Reid. "This isn't just a tax on construction, it's also a tax on oil changes and car repairs. Even haircuts will cost more thanks to the McGuinty government."

In Ontario, vehicle repairs are regulated under the Consumer Protection Act and auto dealers are regulated by the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act; making the trades tax simply a way to fund another layer of unnecessary bureaucracy.

"The McGuinty government will use the trades tax to build another layer of government bureaucracy that no one needs or wants," says Reid. "A new bureaucracy of McGuinty trades cops will never be successful, and the doomed experiment is sure to cost taxpayers millions and millions of dollars."

To learn more about the Campaign visit: www.stopthetradestax.ca

SOURCE: Ontario Construction Employers Coalition

For further information:

Jessica Georgakopoulos, Playbook Communications, [e-mail], 416-994-7901
Frank Notte, Trillium Auto Dealers Association, [e-mail], 416-346-4117
Sean Reid, Progressive Contractors Association of Canada and Campaign chair, [e-mail] 289-335-1181