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‘An administrative nightmare’: New Brunswick businesses react to HST holiday

Click to play video: 'New Brunswick businesses react to tax break'
New Brunswick businesses react to tax break
WATCH: The HST holiday may be good news for Christmas shoppers, but it’s been an administrative nightmare for many independent businesses, according to one advocate.

It was a long night for Tyler Randall and his staff at Endeavours & ThinkPlay.

The shop’s shelves are lined with board games, art supplies and stuffed animals — a lot of merchandise they had to sort through.

It was one of thousands of businesses that had to adjust to the HST holiday on Dec. 14.

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Despite the extra work created by the tax break, Randall hopes it will help with sales.

“It’s always the time of year where you’re looking at different ways and plans to get customers out and get customers to your location, so you know, I hope it’s going to be worth it, and of course, time will tell,” Randall said.

However, other business owners have voiced concerns about the timing of the tax break.

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“We’re hearing it’s a really stressful time for many small business owners at their busiest time of year,” said Duncan Robertson, a policy analyst with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

He called the roll-out “a dog’s breakfast” and “an administrative nightmare.”

To learn more about how the tax break impacted Fredericton, watch the video above.

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