The provincial government will spend more than $83 million to help restaurant owners update their cash registers with small devices that will ensure that everything being sold is reported for tax purposes.
Finance Minister Raymond Bachand announced the plan Monday at a Montreal restaurant, saying the Quebec government hopes to recover an estimated $300 million in unpaid taxes per year once the "ramp-up" to the new law is complete.
Bachand added the government could see $2 billion in additional revenue over the next 10 years.
Some restaurant owners use a software program referred to in the industry as a "zapper," which hides sales in cash registers and therefore saves the owners money in taxes.
The government estimates it loses $3 billion a year to tax evasion, with $1.5 billion in the construction industry alone and $400 million in the restaurant industry.
The government's plan includes $38.5 million in subsidies for restaurant owners to install the new devices, which cost $1,000 apiece. There will be 30,000 of these devices installed in 19,000 restaurants across the province. American computer giant IBM won the lucrative contract after a call for tenders.
The government has also earmarked $45 million to help restaurant owners who need to change their accounting software to accommodate the new devices. The government will pay for 80 per cent of the cost of those changes for restaurant owners who apply for the subsidy by March 31, 2011. After that date, Quebec will only cover 40 per cent of the cost.
The changes will mean restaurant clients will receive fully itemized bills when they finish their meals, listing everything they ordered. A failure to do so will result in a fine for the restaurant.
