It may have come as a surprise only to the NDP government that retail sales in Manitoba were down 4.1 percent in July from the previous month. That represented the largest drop in Canada and the single-largest drop in retail sales in Manitoba in the past decade.
Of course it is no coincidence that the sharp decline in retail sales occurred in the same month that the NDP increased the PST from 7% to 8%. Many analysts warned that the increase to the PST would have a negative effect on consumer spending and economic performance.
But the NDP simply are not interested in what impact this has on Manitobans, they are just interested in getting more tax dollars so they can continue spending other peoples money. The good news is that it’s not too late for the NDP to listen to Manitobans and repeal the PST increase since the bill which authorizes it has not passed the legislature. The bad news is that the NDP haven’t proven to be all that interested in listening to Manitobans.
