As of today, every restaurant in Quebec is required to have a machine that keeps track of sales. The machine is called a Sales Recording Module, and its purpose is to reduce tax evasion.
The provincial government estimates that around $150 million in sales goes unreported every year.
Restaurants that do not have the machine installed could face charges of up to $10,000. According to Quebec’s Restaurants Association, up to a third of the province’s restaurants still didn’t have the device installed earlier this month.
Association spokesperson Dominique Tremblay predicts that many restaurants will shut down in favour of tracking their sales.