A bizarity. Frangelistic. Bordering on chrondometric.

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/11/2024 (291 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It is a bizarity. Positively frangelistic. Bordering on chrondometric.

Obviously, we know these are made-up words. But they are every bit as made up as the pre-Christmas tax-cutting plan delivered this week by the federal Liberals.

A two-month GST holiday — but starting Dec. 14, just 11 shopping days before Christmas.

Not on everything. Just on some strangely unrelated things.

Prepared foods, including vegetable trays, pre-made meals and salads, and sandwiches.

Restaurant meals, whether dine-in, takeout or delivery.

Snacks, including candies, chocolate, gum and related sweets, chips, cheese puffs, popcorn, and similar salted snacks.

Ice cream, other frozen treats and pudding.

Beer, wine, cider and pre-mixed alcoholic beverages below seven per cent alcohol by volume.

Children’s clothing and footwear, car seats and diapers.

Children’s toys, such as board games, dolls and video-game consoles.

Christmas trees.

Books, print newspapers and puzzles for all ages.

Puzzles? The whole darned thing is puzzling.

The tax-free selections look like they were picked by throwing darts.

Or worse. It sounds like a Christmas wish list put together by a studious but tipsy junk-food-loving parent who doesn’t like to cook. Who just didn’t get around to buying a Christmas tree early, and who thinks a nice sit-down around a healthy puzzle will cure all the family ills.

Certainly, the $250 Christmas cheque the Liberals are also promising for most Canadians will come in handy, even if, like that bit of Christmas cash from absentminded Uncle Frank, it will actually show up some time in the spring.

“Canadians have been through a lot. They work hard. We see that. We’ve been able to get through the past couple of years. Everyone had to tighten their belts a little bit. Now we’re going to be able to give a tax break for all Canadians,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday. It’s hard to reconcile that position with Trudeau’s past, more rational arguments about tax breaks risking a growth in inflation, or giving assistance to Canadians who need assistance, not everyone, regardless of the size their income

The whole thing seems like it was designed in a rush by the federal Department of Accidental Economic Knock-ons. Is there an argument for removing taxes to help people after an inflationary period that saw everyone’s buying power eroded? Absolutely. But the economic leg bone is connected to the knee bone — and in the economy, sudden and confusing tax decisions can have broad impacts, the kinds of impacts that clearly weren’t examined before this plan was implemented.

Just imagine you’re a small-business owner, girding yourself for the peak of the Christmas season. You’re probably seeing customers not just buying, but returning purchases as well, so they can come back on Dec. 14 and purchase the same item all over again — but this time, with a five per cent discount because of the GST holiday — or maybe more, depending on the behaviour of provincial governments that share in point-of-sale taxation.

Don’t think that five per cent will have that much of an effect on people’s purchasing? Just ask a small-business owner who’s taken part in a “tax-free day” promotion. Meanwhile, people buying for Christmas will now probably wait two weeks before heading to shop. It’s a headache that, added to a season where small retail businesses make a key portion of their profits (or rescue themselves from losses), is hardly needed.

It’s easy to understand — the Liberals are in a deep public opinion hole, and are thrashing around like a hooked fish to try and find some way out of it all. It’s jotted-down-on-a-paper-napkin planning: “Let’s discount Christmas cheer! But hmmm… maybe not hard liquor — wrong message there.”

The result? It’s like a free cookie. People will happily take it, but it won’t change their minds.

Absolutely bombagrondic.