The Department of Finance says the new sugar-sweetened beverage tax is collected at the wholesale level and most retailers do not have to remit the tax to government.
The department was offering some clarification after a west coast man raised serious questions about the impact the tax was having on his wife’s small restaurant.
The department says wholesalers invoice and collect the tax from retailers and the retailers, in turn, price their sugar-sweetened beverages accordingly.
They say the only retailers who have to remit taxes directly to government are those who purchase from non-registered wholesalers or businesses located outside of the province.
