47% say Ontario HST will impact their business negatively

 The Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) is coming soon. But according to research conducted in late March 2010 for ING DIRECT by Angus Reid Opinion Poll:

– Only 44% of business owners fully understand the implications. That means more than half of business owners are unclear or may think the HST won’t apply to their business.

– Approximately half of the business owners surveyed (47%) think the HST will have a negative impact on their business.

– Another one-third (37%) think there won’t be any change in their business.

– Only one in twenty (6%) think HST will have a positive impact on their business; and 10% ‘don’t know’.

ING DIRECT has just launched a helpful microsite: HST 101 for Business (ingdirect.ca/HST101), following a free seminar they recently held on HST for their business clients. The microsite includes a video and presentation deck of the seminar featuring guest speaker Danny Cisterna, Partner and Indirect Tax Expert of Deloitte & Touche, and also includes:

– 10 Things to Know about the HST
– HST Savings Tips
– Key Dates
– HST-Ready Checklist
– and links to other web Resources to help business owners better understand the HST and its impact.
"We encourage all Canadians to save their money so being in the know about new taxes and their implications is important," says Peter Aceto, President & CEO of ING DIRECT. "We also think it’s only fair that business owners, like all Canadians with savings accounts, earn high interest and not pay fees on their savings."

The Angus Reid Public Opinion poll found that most businesses in Canada do not earn any interest on their cash reserves, while they pay high fees that they think are unfair:

– 62% do not earn any interest at all; another 11% are unsure if they do
– 53% pay $10 or more per month in fees; 13% pay $30 or more per month
– 43% think fees are not fair; 33% think fees are moderately fair

ING DIRECT has more ways for businesses to save money with the Business Investment Savings Account that pays the highest interest of any Canadian bank with no minimum balances and no fees (source: CANNEX* as of April 19, 2010), as well as Business GICs at great rates. Both Business Investment Savings Accounts and Business GICs are available in Canadian or U.S. dollars.

Simple, accessible, safe and secure, ING DIRECT also offers mobile banking for business and personal accounts, with a mobile website (m.ingdirect.ca) and apps for both the iPhone(R) and BlackBerry(R), the only bank in Canada to offer apps for both devices.

SURVEY METHODOLOGY & SUMMARY OF RESULTS

Angus Reid Public Opinion:

Angus Reid Public Opinion, a practice of Vision Critical, conducted an online survey among 500 randomly selected Canadian adults who are self-employed, own their own business or have a side business where they currently earn income, and are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error-which measures sampling variability-is +/- 4.4%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a representative sample. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

Do you understand how HST will apply to your business?

Yes, I fully understand 44%
I somewhat understand 31%
I do not understand 15%
Won’t apply to my business 10%

How do you think HST will impact your business?

Negatively 47%
Positively 6%
No change 37%
Don’t know 10%

Do you earn any interest on your business cash reserves?

Yes 27%
No 62%
Not sure 11%

On average, what do you spend on business banking fees per month
(including monthly fees, transaction fees, etc)?

Under $10 29%
Between $10-$19 28%
Between $20 $29 14%
More than $30 13%
Don’t pay fees 16%

How fair do you think the business banking fees you currently pay are?

Very fair 20%
Moderately fair 33%
Not very fair 23%
Not at all fair 20%
Don’t know 4%