Restaurants want GST holiday to be permanent in Canada [Video]

Restaurant industry members are calling on the federal government to make the GST holiday permanent, even though some businesses have yet to see much impact from the tax break.

Some business owners say the tax break on restaurant meals stretching from Dec. 14 to Feb. 15 has been a big enough hit that it’s worth extending for good.

“People are just freaking loving it, like we hear about it every day. It’s just crazy,” said Bill Pratt, the chief executive of the Chef Inspired Group of Restaurants, which owns Habaneros Modern Taco Bar, Cheese Curds and Studio East Asian Gastropub in Nova Scotia.

“There’s always going to be naysayers, but I’m on the other side of the fence going ‘Come on, let’s run it even further. Let’s keep it going.’”

That view is cropping up in corners of the industry as some restaurants crunch holiday numbers and discover they experienced an uptick in …