GST holiday ‘no problem’ for local merchants

Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Despite some negative predictions in the media over the last few weeks, the federal government's two-month GST/HST holiday on certain products has produced few, if any, problems for local merchants.

Under the tax break, shoppers do not need to do anything to get the lower price: the GST or HST should simply not be charged at the time of purchase. In provinces that have merged their provincial sales tax with the GST to create a harmonized sales tax (HST) - including Ontario - the entire harmonized tax will be removed at the time of purchase.

The federal government’s two-month GST/HST break affects many products bought at Christmas time, but the list is specific. Check here for a complete breakdown.

Matt Baril, a manager at Canadian Tire Uxbridge, said the store had expected some problems and possibly some complaints when the tax holiday began Saturday, but said "it went smoother than we thought." He said there were no problems at the cash registers because the store's system made automatic reductions.

Zehrs manager Greg Niarchos said there were no issues in his store, "touch wood." He said Zehrs head office did all the planning for the tax holiday.

Smaller retail outlets also took the tax break in stride. Sherry Doodchenko of Pharmasave said the tax break caused only "minimal" disruption for her.

"We just had to do some work on the computer," she said.

It was the same for Dina Middleton of Presents Presents Presents.

"It was not too much of an inconvenience," she said, noting that changes she made to her computer system during the pandemic allowed her to make the necessary changes this time with just a couple of hours extra work at home on Friday night. She said the tax break affects between 10 and 15 per cent of the items in her store.

Middleton was not the only one working late on Friday night. Shelley Macbeth of Blue Heron Books and the staff of Wixan's Bridge all worked late to adjust their computers in readiness for Saturday.

None of the retailers mentioned here reported any complaints from customers.