The federal government today says it is giving a “tax break for all Canadians”, on top of a new Working Canadians Rebate cheque coming in spring 2025.
With the federal Liberals tanking hard in the polls, this new plan looks to win over the hearts and minds (err, wallets) of Canadians.
“Our government can’t set prices, but we can give Canadians, and especially working Canadians, more money back in their pocket. With a tax break for all Canadians and the Working Canadians Rebate, we’re making sure you can buy the things you need and save for the things you want,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a statement on Thursday.
We're delivering a tax break for all Canadians. pic.twitter.com/6wLj0O0Sj3
— Liberal Party (@liberal_party) November 21, 2024
So starting on December 14, 2024 to February 15, 2025, GST/HST will be exempt across the country on the following items:
So that means if you were going to buy a PlayStation, Xbox or Nintendo Switch, you may want to wait until December 14 to do so, to save GST. Why not make the tax exemption kick in when Canadians are shopping for Black Friday or early Christmas shoppers?
As for the Working Canadians Rebate, a $250 cheque will be doled out, and it’s available for those that earned up to $150,000 in 2023.
So what will this tax break and rebate cheque cost the federal government and taxpayers? A finance official told CBC News the following estimates:
That’s $6.28 billion at least, in what critics are calling a “ridiculous gimmick” and essentially trying to bribe Canadians with this “trick”. What do you think about this GST/HST exemption? Will you be waiting to buy your new gaming console?
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Tax break during a period when consumer spending is traditionally at its lowest in January and February. I suppose it’ll help those super last minute Xmas shoppers! How about the billions siphoned from our pockets over the past two years alone? Yea, thanks Trudy lol
Who's paying for the $1.6 billion? https://media1.giphy.com/media/Cc33x00kRXRlu/giphy-downsized-small.mp4
Who is paying? The same people that the federal government took the money from through taxes. It’s our money, they are just returning small portion to those who they collected it from. OR, to be more accurate, they won’t be giving away any money; they just won’t take some of the money that is already in our pockets.
Do you really have to ask??
Election must be close..haha.
Personally, I think the timeline is pretty aggressive considering that retailers, who are the ones that collect and remit the GST, have to adjust their POS systems to identify and then mark each of the products within these categories as GST exempt. This while it is the busiest shopping period of the year. So, I’m sure 3 weeks was the bare minimum that retailers needed. If you consider that, I think this is a pretty aggressive timeline and a good balance for consumers to make sure it kicks in at least a little before Christmas and more importantly before the end of the year and into the new year when everyone is a bit cash strapped.
Honestly, I don’t understand the cynical comments here. Did you actually think through how something like this would have to be implemented before you complained? If you are a major retailer, do you think a change like this happens overnight, especially when you already had work planned for your staff and don’t just have people sitting around idle and waiting to do this work? Governing means thinking things through and balancing the needs of many groups. This sort of balanced thinking from the government is another example of how governing is difficult and requires complex trade-offs. That’s why it should be the business of adults who think through their actions and their impacts thoroughly, not billionaire playboys and Silicon Valley tech bros who are moonlighting and who live by the tech mantra of “move fast and break things”. You have to try and avoid breaking things as the government. Governing requires adults who will balance the needs of the public and business and think things through.
Considering the failure of the government to make certain items on the tax holiday list cheaper on their own, I’d argue these items should be tax free permanently (groceries not booze and videogames).
I do think there’s an economic opportunity for Canada at the border though if electronics were GST exempt now that it’s looking like Americans will be paying 20% tax on their electronics at least in the near future so maybe that’s something to look at keeping.
Actually, the basic need groceries like breads and cereals, dairy products (unflavoured milk, cheese, butter, cream, sour cream, yogurt), eggs, fish, fruits, meat (beef, poultry, pork, lamb, prepared meats, sausages) and vegetables are already permanently tax free
So many of our younger citizens forgot how to prepare food at home hence becoming quite reliant on take out and delivery services.
So instead of slashing taxes during Black Friday, let's wait until a time when Canadians traditionally spend less, unless they get last minute Christmas shopping done. Let's make sure retailers have to go through and change their systems for two months.
Either way – trumpeting that they're doing something while doing nothing at all. This is Trudeau's typical word salad but in the financial sense. I'm sure they'll add to the streaming tax or the news tax or some other tax in the meantime.
Election can't come fast enough.
What problem do you have with facts? You don’t like the reality that the food essentials have been tax exempt since 2007?
So, instead of lowering the cost of staple foods like milk or eggs, it's for junk food, beer and video games? He's turning into Doug Ford.