Ontario's Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy has approved the deferral of the scheduled March 1, 2023 Beer Tax increase. We thank the Ministry of Finance for taking our recommendations into consideration in support of Ontario's recovering hospitality industry.
During the pandemic, the government had made the decision to defer the beer tax increase which was greatly welcomed. It was scheduled to increase March 1, 2023. Our industry is still in recovery and requires support in order to overcome the burdens that were inflicted by COVID-19. This is why ORHMA, on behalf of our members, insisted that the beer tax increase needs to be repealed and government needs to eliminate further indexation increases recognizing the negative impacts associated with additional taxes on Ontario businesses and consumers.
On behalf of our industry, we thank the provincial government for the positive response to our recommendations and for supporting the recovery and growth of our hospitality sector by not imposing any new tax or regulatory burdens.