CANADIAN RETAILERS can't compete wiih

their

American

counterparts because of higher taxes and labor costs this side of
the border, says West Vancouver resident Johni de Groot, who

owns businesses located in Vancouver.

Canadian retailers are

CANADIAN RETAILERS are
unable to compete in a market
where they pay higher taxes and
higher wholesale prices than their
southern neighbors, says one West

By Pamela Lang
Features Reporter

Vancouver businesswoman.

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“They (consumers) will shop
where they get the best value,”
said Johni de Groot. :

De Groot lives on the North
Shore and operates the Van-
couver-based Sampie Room, sell-
ing clothing and shoes, as well as
a restaurant,

lf the goods sold in Canada
were of the same quality and
price, people could be encouraged
to keep their shopping dollars in
this country, but ‘“‘we shouldn’t be
paying for the priviledge of being
Canadian,”* she said.

“It’s ridiculous to penalize us.’’

Canadian retailers are not
short-changing their customers,
she insisted, but in order to keep
their’ profit margins similar to
their U.S. counterparts they have
to charge more because of the
higher. merchandise and labor
costs in Canada.

She said she saw a pair of boots
in the U.S. that were selling for
$90. She sells the same pair for
$160. ‘I paid $85 for those
boots.’’

De Groot said that although the
American retailer obviously paid
less for the same boots, laws such

as a federal anti-dumping law
keeps those deals from being
available to her.

“It’s not like we’re gouging the
customer,’’ she said, adding that
“the government doesn’t really
seem to care’’ if people shop here
or across the border.

Canada also has fewer tax
breaks for business expenses and,
with the government controlling
liquor sales. she must pay up
front for her restaurant liquor
tather than getting discounts and
time to pay like the American
restauraicurs do.

De Groot also disagrees with
having to be a tax collector when
she adds provincial and federal
taxes to products she sells. ‘I’m
sick of working for the govern-
ment. { didn't apply for that
job.”

In business for 20 years, she
says she would move to the Unit-
ed States today if she could get a
buyer for her business.

De Groot added thar she knows
of many other businesspeople who
would do the same.

“Iv’s_ so socialist here,’? she
said, adding that she doesn’t like

'

‘NEWS photo Nel Lucsnte

unable to compete with Americans |

having to pay for public transit —
through taxes —- when she doesn’t
use it, and she doesn’t like having
to pay for the peopie who abuse
the welfare and medical systems.

The Goods and Services Tax is
another thing that is hurting their
business. “‘“A 7% tax on an al-
ready slumping economy was the
last nail in the coffin.”’

“I don’t really see what I can
do”’ to compete against American
tetailers, she said. _

Bellis Fair in Bellingham is one
of the most successful shopping
centres in the U.S., yet their mar-
ket is not Americans, it is Cana-
dians, de Groot added. a

“They have a totally different
attitude,’' she said of the Ameri-
can government, adding that they
spend money to entice business -
while we curtail spending and hurt
the economy.

While she admitted that there
are opportunities here, she said
She sees ‘‘much more opportuni-
ty’’ in the U.S. . :

“This whole country is going
downhill; the government needs a
big change in attitude.”’

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