QUEEN’S PARK—Today in the Provincial Legislature, NDP Revenue Critic Michael Prue called on the McGuinty government to stop punishing ethnic newspapers by charging PST due to a regulatory loophole.

“This is simply a question about fairness. Millions of Ontarians receive their news – be it national, local or from their homelands – through these ethnic newspapers. Charging them PST due to a regulatory loophole is an attack on those communities,” said Prue. “Clearly, the policy doesn't address the reality of these publications. Cut the red tape and stop the punishing tax grab so that Ontario’s ethnic newspapers can continue to do their job of making information accessible.”

Currently, smaller publications that publish less than five times per week and use staples to bind the pages are not considered newspapers but magazines. As such, they must pay PST on printing and supply costs.

This issue is not new to the McGuinty Liberals. Members of the ethnic media first brought the regulartory loophole to the attention of former Finance Minister Greg Sorbara. Still, the shadow of punishing tax bills and bureaucratic red tape continues to loom over many of these community papers.

Thòi Báo, a Vietnamese publication that publishes twice weekly, was audited recently by the Ministry of Revenue. The ministry says the newspaper is a magazine because it has two staples and publishes twice a week. As a result, the newspaper has been billed for nearly $1 million.

“Where does this leave these publications? Numerous ethnic papers across Ontario play an essential role in informing their readers and the NDP believes they deserve fair treatment,” said Prue.

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