Jagmeet Singh asks premiers to match his pledge to remove sales tax from daily essentials
NDP leader wants premiers to remove PST from kids' clothing, some groceries, home heating and other items
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he has written to Canada's premiers asking them to match his pledge to remove the GST from daily essentials by doing the same with their provincial sales taxes.
"Working people are being gouged every time they pay their cell phone bill or stop at the grocery store to grab something for dinner," Singh said in a statement Wednesday.
"My tax-free essentials pledge, plus provincial sales tax relief, would go a long way to giving people some breathing room."
Last week, Singh promised that an NDP government would remove the GST from grocery-store meals, diapers, kids' clothing, home heating, cell phone and internet bills.
Singh said an NDP government would pay for the tax cut by introducing an "excess profits tax" on large corporations that he says are jacking up prices to boost profit margins.
In September, Singh announced that he was terminating the supply-and-confidence agreement his party made with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government.
The agreement, which was struck between the two parties in March 2022, committed the NDP to supporting the minority Liberal government on confidence votes in exchange for legislative commitments on NDP priorities.
While the end of that agreement means the prospect of an early federal election has increased, Singh has so far been reluctant to support efforts by the Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois to unseat the Liberals on a non-confidence vote.
"I will not let [Conservative Leader] Pierre Poilievre, the 'King Cut,' or the Bloc call the shots," Singh said last month.
"We'll look at any bill that comes forward, any motion that comes forward, and if it's going to help people with these difficult times, we'll look at that."
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