Those picking up a can or two-litre of pop can expect to pay more starting today.
The province’s controversial sugary drink tax came into effect this morning.
The province is now charging an additional 20 cents per litre on a wide range of products including pop and fruit-flavoured drinks as well as concentrated drink mixtures including flavoured powders and fountain and frozen slush drinks.
While the tax is being touted as an attempt to encourage people to make healthier choices, it’s seen by many as a tax grab.
The tax is expected to reap the provincial government an additional $9 million per year.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business calls it “another tax on an unpaid tax collector.”
Vice President Atlantic of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Louis Philippe Gauthier says the main concern for most of their members is how the tax will be implemented.
He says the rules surrounding the tax and communications from government “weren’t entirely clear.”
An information circular on the new tax, updated yesterday with a new list of special considerations, has some businesses expressing frustration with the way it’s been rolled out.