{"id":817323,"date":"2025-01-05T09:15:07","date_gmt":"2025-01-05T15:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/05\/some-items-will-cost-less-during-canadas-gst-hst-holiday-what-is-it-story-kids-news\/"},"modified":"2025-01-05T09:15:07","modified_gmt":"2025-01-05T15:15:07","slug":"some-items-will-cost-less-during-canadas-gst-hst-holiday-what-is-it-story-kids-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/05\/some-items-will-cost-less-during-canadas-gst-hst-holiday-what-is-it-story-kids-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Some items will cost less during Canada\u2019s GST\/HST holiday. What is it? | story | Kids News"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<h2>Tax break will last 2 months<\/h2>\n<hr>\n<p>\u2b50\ufe0fHERE\u2019S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW\u2b50\ufe0f<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Canadian government announced a GST\/HST holiday from Dec. 14 to Feb. 15, 2025.<\/li>\n<li>The tax break applies to things like children\u2019s toys, books and Christmas trees.<\/li>\n<li>It amounts to between $5 and $15 of savings for every $100 spent.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Not everyone agrees that it\u2019s a good idea.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Read on to find out more. \u2b07\ufe0f\u2b07\ufe0f\u2b07\ufe0f<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<p>You may have been hearing about something called a GST\/HST holiday and thought, whoopie! A day off school!<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, it\u2019s not that kind of holiday, but it could help you and your parents save some money this holiday season.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, Canada\u2019s federal government announced that it will be waiving certain taxes on some items from Dec. 14 to Feb. 15, 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the break is meant to help Canadians deal with the pressure of the high cost of living, but some say this tax holiday won\u2019t be effective.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A man wearing a shirt and tie points to an open-air fridge in a grocery store.\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/kidsnews\/images\/CP173562696.JPG\"><\/p>\n<p>Prime Minister Justin Trudeau points at food items in a grocery store on Nov. 21 in Sharon, Ontario. The government is removing the GST on some food items for two months, starting Saturday. (Image credit: Chris Young\/The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n<h4><span>Savings depend on where you live\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>The new tax break will apply to a number of items, including children\u2019s toys, prepared foods, restaurant meals, books and Christmas trees.<\/p>\n<p>But how much you save depends on if the province you live in uses something called HST.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone in Canada pays the GST (goods and service tax), which is five per cent, on most items.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>So for every $100 you spend on a product, $5 goes to the federal government.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>GST isn\u2019t charged on some items, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, eggs and bread.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Most provinces also have a provincial sales tax.<\/p>\n<p>In Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, they combine provincial taxes and GST into one tax called the harmonized sales tax (HST).<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Nintendo Switch gaming consoles.\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/kidsnews\/images\/CP111810922.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>Gaming consoles will cost less between Dec. 14 and Feb. 15, 2025, due to a GST tax break from the federal government. (Image credit: Jae C. Hong\/The Associated Press)<\/p>\n<p>If your province uses HST, you\u2019ll save more.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For provinces that don\u2019t use HST, purchasing a big-ticket item like a PlayStation \u2014 which costs roughly $500 \u2014 would amount to about $25 in savings with GST waived.<\/p>\n<p>For provinces waiving HST, those savings would be higher \u2014 between $65 and $75, depending on the province.\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/kidsnews\/post\/food-prices-skyrocketing-heres-how-kids-from-one-p.e.i-school-are-helping-o\">Food prices going up? Here\u2019s how kids from one P.E.I. school are helping out<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><span>Some don\u2019t approve of the holiday<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Along with helping out individual Canadians, some businesses also said they might benefit from the GST\/HST holiday by encouraging more shopping.<\/p>\n<p>But some businesses have said the tax break has been complicated to work out logistically.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Some said the tax break and rebate are just a way for the Liberals, who are unpopular right now, to gain favour.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The leader of the Conservative Party, Pierre Poillievre, called it a \u201ctemporary two-month tax trick.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The NDP said they\u2019d like to remove the GST on daily essentials permanently.<\/p>\n<p>The Liberals defended their decision, saying it would help all Canadians.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/kidsnews\/post\/house-of-commons-is-back-in-session-who-are-canadas-politicians\">Who are Canada\u2019s politicians?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But some economists are warning the tax break could mean higher inflation down the line, which refers to the rate at which prices increase over time.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A man walks by a Christmas tree lot.\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/kidsnews\/images\/CP142864351.JPG\"><\/p>\n<p>If you haven\u2019t yet bought your Christmas tree, your family can save five per cent tax when you purchase one. (Image credit: Graham Hughes\/The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n<p>That could mean the cost of buying things gets more expensive even faster than before.\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/kidsnews\/post\/watch-heres-why-your-familys-grocery-bills-are-getting-more-expensive-in-20\">WATCH \u2014 Here\u2019s why your family\u2019s groceries are getting more expensive in 2022<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><span>There could be more breaks<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>The federal government has also said they\u2019ll be sending $250 to working Canadians who made $150,000 or less in 2023, starting sometime in the spring.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, some say that those who need it most \u2014 like retirees and those with disabilities \u2014 may be excluded from the benefit.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Rob Gillezeau, an assistant professor of economic analysis and policy at the University of Toronto, said studies in the U.S. have shown that temporary tax holidays aren\u2019t effective.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He said the roughly $6 billion the government will spend on the tax holiday and the rebate cheques could be used in better ways.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is the worst thing we could do with $6 billion? Maybe this is not the absolute worst, but it&#8217;s really, really down there. It\u2019s disappointing,\u201d Gillezeau told CBC News.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>\ufeff\ufeffHave more questions? \ufeffWant to tell us how we&#8217;re doing? Use the \u201csend us feedback\u201d link below. \u2b07\ufe0f\u2b07\ufe0f\u2b07\ufe0f<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><em>With files from Catharine Tunney, Raffy Boudjikanian, Darren Major and Jenna Benchetrit\/CBC<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>TOP IMAGE CREDIT: Sean Kilpatrick\/The Canadian Press<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/rss\/articles\/CBMirAFBVV95cUxNOEJDeE9FMHJtd1pzQ1ZxdkhUMzRMQU9RY1BoV3h4dS1SNmtBUVpXWWtlakk3TlpvNXV4UUZQeTBCUEhvTDVGYTZjNEczNzZoTEJBdTBHZTVwTW02UU05a1JPWWExc2VtMzB4d29jeGdZQlJSc3VtVTNJY0o1cFNrQ2JKelBicGFhVERBckdjREZRU3BkWUd2bXgzVG5jMVd6Z1lhUUJFVTVDbHZ0?oc=5\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tax break will last 2 months \u2b50\ufe0fHERE\u2019S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW\u2b50\ufe0f The Canadian government announced a GST\/HST holiday from Dec. 14 to Feb. 15, 2025. The tax break applies to things like children\u2019s toys, books and Christmas trees. It amounts to between $5 and $15 of savings for every $100 spent.\u00a0 Not everyone agrees<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":817324,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26166,237],"tags":[7002,7128],"class_list":{"0":"post-817323","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-canadas","8":"category-items","9":"tag-canadas","10":"tag-items"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=817323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/817324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=817323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=817323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=817323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}