'Diddly': Less than rave reviews for the GST holiday from some Saskatchewan shoppers

The federal government’s temporary GST break started this past weekend, and it doesn't appear to be getting rave reviews from businesses or consumers.

As shoppers gear up for the last week before Christmas, the reaction to the tax break in Saskatchewan isn’t likely what the Trudeau government hoped for.

“The amount of money people get is diddly,” Spiritwood resident Karen Price told CTV News.

Price jumped into the conversation about the two month sales tax cut on a well-known Facebook page after one user posted a receipt, igniting a firestorm of comments.

The grocery bill was from a purchase before the tax holiday and had GST on it. The bill came to $274. The items that were charged GST totaled $28, meaning that the GST savings would’ve only been $1.41.

“Woohoo! I don't think anybody was dancing when they looked at their bill, you know,” Price said.

Others who commented about the receipt sarcastically said things like, “they saved seven cents on their coffee, now they can afford a turkey dinner.”

Or, deriding the tax holiday as an “insulting gesture.”

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Jason Aebig with the Saskatoon chamber of commerce says it wasn’t a well thought out plan, and creates headaches for businesses.

“Well, as anticipated, I think there was still a bit of confusion around how to actually implement this policy,” Aebig told CTV News.

While there’s a lot of negative thoughts with regards to the GST holiday, one person we spoke to think it’s a positive thing.

“People need a break. Like, there's a lot of old low-income families. I’m low income. I live in a group home. I need a break with the GST,” Kirk Taylor said.

It’s that positivity that the federal minister of small business hopes will push Canadians to spend at local businesses before the tax break ends February 15.

“They're looking at a five per cent increase in sales, and they're looking at an additional $1.5 billion in revenue just in the 2 months alone, again, helping small businesses in that January and February hump,” MP Rechie Valdez said.

Other shoppers commenting on the Facebook post say the cut doesn’t help those who can’t afford to shop or eat out and misses the mark to help the Canadians most in need.

Some businesses are reportedly not taking the GST off because it’s too complicated.

Meanwhile, there’s some advice for businesses trying to navigate.

“Focus on compliance. If you charge the GST, remit it back to the CRA and if you don't charge the GST, then document it in case the CRA wants to see what you did with it,” Aebig said.