Tax holiday continues after Christmas, gets mixed reviews from Maritimers

The federal government’s tax holiday is in effect until Feb. 15, offering Canadians a break on their shopping to start the new year.

The tax break was introduced on Dec. 14 to ease costs for Canadians heading into the expensive holiday season but Maritimers still have mixed opinions on the policy.

Janet Merrithew is the owner of Sweet Jane’s, a gift and confectionary store in Halifax. She said the tax holiday helped, especially with big-ticket items.

“I didn't get a lot of people that were like ‘wow, that's so much cheaper,’ but there were certain people for certain items, particularly toys that came in, that were looking for that break, ” said Merrithew.

Mackenzie Brady from Halifax said she took full advantage of the tax holiday.

“Expensive clothing items or things you have been putting off because you think it's better to save for then splurge on,” said Brady. “But what better time than in the present?”

Denice Kalvano is one of the Maritimers who said the tax holiday helped her stay on budget during the holiday season.

“I stick to that budget and I have noticed a drop in the cost,” said Kalvano.

Chris Green is the Owner of Atlantic News in Halifax. He said the tax break has been “more of a headache.”

“I don’t think it increased our business much,” Green said. “We have a clientele that comes in here for newspapers, magazines and books and they got a discount on the books and newspapers and not on the magazines and cards and discounts on soda and junk food.”

Merrithew said she hopes the continued tax break will increase shopping after Christmas into Valentine’s Day, the next major retail holiday.

“This is always a lull for the retail business anyway, so we don't expect a great deal,” Merrithew said.

Green isn’t so optimistic.

“If anything, it hurts a little bit because most of the stock we have purchased we have paid for it with HST and are now selling it without GST,” Green said. “We will get that back later but it's money that we could use now.”

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