The tax holiday continues but the buying boom that was expected didn’t manifest itself as hoped, according to reports from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

And a survey of business owners said only 4 per cent of them felt that an increase in sales was likely.

Dan Kelly, President of the CFIB, said many owners worry if they’ve exempted items properly and what that could mean in the future.

“If you spend a dollar in a small, local independent business, 66 cents of that dollar stays within that community through taxes, investments, contributions and wages. If you buy something from a large, multinational or big box store, only 11 cents of that sale stays in the local community and if you buy it from a big, online player, only 9 cents of that sale stays in the community.”

Kelly said some businesses have had to review thousands of products and change their point of sales systems, only to have to repeat the process again in mid-February.

He added the CFIB has fielded thousands of calls from businesses looking for direction on exemptions with little help from the government.

Hear the complete interview with Kelly on Thompson Today this afternoon at 12:40 and 5:10.