Federal Sales Tax – 1952
Menacing clouds began to appear on the future outlook of the electrical industry. Secretary Edmunds told members that manufacturers were not at all enthusiastic about providing the 60-day guarantee that was proving popular with the consumer. Another concern came in the form of a new federal sales tax allowance. Under the new law, wholesalers were receiving a 7.5 percent tax allowance, while the purchaser was receiving over 9 percent. This inequity was raised with the Department of Finance with no immediate result.
Vice-President Jack Sharpe added to the ominous mood in his report to the Central District members. Sharpe had returned from visiting numerous manufacturers and members, and he drew these conclusions:
“The price situation is chaotic and won’t be settling down in the near future, and statistics show that the days of easy selling are over.”
He did, however, bring some good news: many manufacturers were giving a (new) two percent cash discount to wholesalers to partly counteract the influx of lower-priced American goods into the Canadian marketplace.
John Kerr is Publisher of CEW.
Source: CEDA: Fifty Years of Service – An Historical Review of the Canadian Electrical Distributors Association, 1934 to 1984, Kerrwil Publications. Please feel free to reach out to us any time if you have great photos, historical anecdotes or perspectives. We would love to hear from you; linegoyette@kerrwil.com.
