Bill offering two-month GST holiday passes

Bill offering two-month GST holiday passes
Bill offering two-month GST holiday passes

The bill to create a two-month GST holiday passed the House of Commons on Thursday evening with 176 votes in favor and 151 votes against. The Liberals notably benefited from the support of the New Democratic Party (NDP) to pass this measure aimed at relieving the wallets of Canadians.

As they announced earlier in the day, the Conservatives opposed the bill aimed at creating a leave of absence TPS. The Bloc Québécois also spoke out in opposition to the measure.

Il [le premier ministre Justin Trudeau] is desperate. This is why he announced fake, irresponsible, inflationary and electoral Christmas gifts to save his skin. It’s irresponsiblelaunched their leader, Pierre Poilievre, during a press briefing during the day on Thursday in the foyer of the House of Commons.

Mr. Poilievre explained that his troops favor permanent measures, including eliminating the TPS on new housing, to cut waste and excessive bureaucracy to reduce the deficit and repair the budget to protect everyone’s purchasing power.

During question period, Quebec Minister Soraya Martinez-Ferrada addressed it grumpy […] who doesn’t want to vote for a tax holiday.

His Ontario colleague Peter Fragiskatos recalled that the Conservatives had promised a temporary and targeted reduction in the TPS during the last elections, but now reject it because it is a liberal initiative. May the real Pierre Poilievre rise in this House of Commonshe sent.

The Bloc also found themselves in the hot seat after announcing their colors on Wednesday. The Liberals criticized them for refusing to help Quebecers and the NPD of ally to Pierre Poilievre while people struggle, […] have difficulty paying their bills, paying their rent.

Buy votes

In the press scrum, the Bloc finance spokesperson, Gabriel Ste-Marie, judged on the contrary that it is a poor use of public funds and denounced that the bill will be adopted as a mega gag since MPs will have no opportunity to study or improve it.

The measure will benefit especially to the richesthe said, referring to cases of champagne, luxurious wines. Conversely, he stressed that groceries and rent are not taxed anyway, in other words the basic needs that the poorest must meet.

According to him, the measure was drawn on a corner of the table with aim electoralist to simply buy votes.

By going to a microphone a few minutes before question period, the deputy head of NPDAlexandre Boulerice, declared that, contrary to the Bloc argument, the TPS is a regressive tax which hurts the poorest and the middle class more than the richest.

Paying 5% when you earn $200,000 a year is peanuts, he said. When you earn $20,000, $25,000 a year, this 5% on your food, on children’s clothing, it hurts your wallet a lot more.

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The New Democratic MP for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, Alexandre Boulerice (Archive photo)

Photo: - / Gabriel Le Marquand-Perreault

The leave of TPSwhich will be in effect from December 14 to February 15, affects dozens of items commonly purchased at Christmas, including children’s clothing and toys, video games and consoles, Christmas trees, restaurant meals and caterers, wine, beer and candy.

The NPD agreed to support the bill and force a halt to the Conservative obstructionists who have been blocking the House of Commons for nearly two months.

He nevertheless demanded that the government dissociate the reduction of the TPS of the promise to send $250 to most Canadian workers this spring. The political party wants this benefit to be extended to retirees and disabled people who do not have employment income.

The government calculates that a person spending $2,000 on such items over the two-month period will save between $100 and $260 depending on the province where they reside.

The difference is explained by the fact that the four Atlantic provinces and Ontario have a harmonized sales tax with Ottawa, which means that the entire tax — 15% in the Atlantic provinces and 13 % in Ontario — will be removed.

Residents of other provinces will only save the 5% of TPSunless provincial governments decide to also lift their sales tax.

Canada has not taken compensatory measures for provincial revenue losses, as the federal government did for the TPS. At the federal level, this measure is expected to cost approximately $1.6 billion.

This bill is the first to have been debated in the House of Commons since the end of September.

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