Trudeau unveils $6.3 billion in tax breaks, rebates in NDP deal

financialpost.com:

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a $6.3 billion affordability package that includes temporary relief on the federal sales tax and a one-time $250 rebate to more than 18 million Canadians.

The plan was agreed upon with the New Democratic Party, an opposition party that pulled out of a power-sharing deal with Trudeau’s government earlier this year. The agreement on tax-and-rebate package shores up the government’s stability in parliament, reducing the likelihood of an early election.

The measures are also aimed at rebuilding support for Trudeau’s Liberal Party, which is languishing far behind its Conservative Party rivals. Cost-of-living concerns and housing costs are dragging down his popularity, opinion polls suggest.

“Our government can’t set prices, but we can give Canadians, and especially working Canadians, more money back in their pocket,” Trudeau said in a news release.

Beginning Dec. 14, the government will scrap the federal goods and services tax, known as the GST, on a range of items until Feb. 15, the release said. That includes grab-and-go meals, restaurant bills, snack items, alcohol, children’s clothing and toys, books, newspapers, puzzles and Christmas trees.

The total cost of the temporary GST removal is $1.6 billion, the release said.

The tax break does not go as far as NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh had called for, which would have included removing the GST on home heating and other monthly bills. But he said the NDP will support it in parliament.

“The NDP will vote for this measure because working people are desperate for relief, and we’re proud we delivered for them again,” Singh said in a statement. “Then we will campaign hard on permanently scrapping the GST on daily essentials and monthly bills,