Order in Council 674/2020

On the recommendation of the undersigned, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, by and with the advice and concurrence of the Executive Council of Ontario, orders that:

Whereas section 27 of the Alcohol, Cannabis and Gaming Regulation and Public Protection Act, 1996 (the “Act”) provides for consumer taxes on purchases of wine and wine cooler manufactured by Ontario wineries, calculated as a percentage of the purchase price;

And whereas, on June 1, 2020, the last of four scheduled increases to taxes under section 27 of the Act is set to take effect in the following amounts: 1% increase for blended wine purchased in winery retail stores; 4% increase for blended wine purchased in wine boutiques (that is, winery retail stores located within the shopping area of a grocery store);1.5% increase for 100% Ontario wine purchased in wine boutiques;

And whereas the Legislature has twice previously delayed the effective date of these tax increases, from April 1, 2019 to January 1, 2020, and then to June 1, 2020;

And whereas the tax increases are estimated to result in up to $1.2 million in additional revenue in the seven-month period ending January 1, 2021;

And whereas, given the economic challenges being faced by Ontario businesses and consumers as a result of the current public health crisis, the Minister of Finance recommends, and the Lieutenant Governor in Council concurs, that it is in the public interest to suspend these tax increases again until December 31, 2020 and to propose amendments to the Act before the end of 2020 so that the Legislature can consider, as it has done in previous years, the appropriateness of further suspending or cancelling the tax increases;

Therefore, pursuant to section 5.1 of the Financial Administration Act, remission be granted to purchasers liable to pay tax under section 27 of the Act, of the difference between the tax payable under the rates that will take effect under that section on June 1, 2020, and the rates that were in effect immediately before that day, on taxable purchases made between June 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020, inclusive.