Child’s winter coat a ‘luxury item,’ doesn’t qualify for PST exemption

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This article was published 25/11/2019 (2136 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The province needs to loosen its sales-tax exemptions so warm winter coats for children aren’t considered a luxury item, one Winnipeg mother says.

There’s a seven-per-cent tax applied to most retail sales in Manitoba. Clothing, footwear and accessories for children 14 and under and the price of which is under $150 are exempt.

Shoppers can also get a tax break on adult-sized clothing that is purchased for a child.

The exemption has been in place for decades, but Allison Northmore only learned of the price cap at the checkout when she took her 14-year-old daughter shopping for a winter coat and boots last week.

“So it’s a luxury to be warm in this city?” Northmore recalls thinking after she was told the coat was considered a “luxury item” because it came to more than $150.

That cap, she said, is arbitrary and unfair — as is the age restriction. Northmore said the tax shouldn’t apply to items being bought for children until they are 16 or 18.

The current exemption has been in place for decades, although the cap increased by $50 in 1999. More recently, it has also been expanded to include diapers, bibs and other baby supplies.

A provincial spokesperson said in a statement that the exemption covers “the vast majority of children clothing items.”

Everything from winter coats to bathing suits, leg warmers to club uniforms, are exempt.

The province noted that Saskatchewan scrapped a similar exemption that covered clothing for children who were 17 and younger in 2017.

“The exemption is intended to help Manitoba families, in particular lower-income families, with the cost of living,” the spokesperson added.

As is, Manitoba’s method still puts low-income families like Northmore’s in a difficult situation, she said, adding she can barely cover the basics when she is living on employment and income assistance.

Her daughter’s new winter coat totalled $399.99, so the sales tax added up to just under $30.

“It could’ve been spent on a hat and mitts or food, bread and milk. That’s how I look at things. I just think it’s a lot of money,” she said.

Northmore said they weren’t looking for a name brand jacket, but rather something her daughter likes, which fit her and would be warm enough for Winnipeg’s winters.

“To live in Winnipeg, it isn’t cheap. I don’t get extra money through the government for winter clothing for my daughter,” she said. “I’d love to live way down in the south where you can wear flip-flops and shorts all day long.”

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie