REGINA - It’s been over two weeks now since the federal government implemented the GST/HST cut on different types of items. One of those items is baby clothing, which includes bibs, blankets, footwear and more.
Despite the cuts saving people money, Sharolyn Renwick, store owner of Hello Baby, said most of her customers are not even aware of the temporary tax cut.
"I would say probably 75 per cent [of the customers in the store] don't know that it's on." She is not sure if people may have forgotten about the break due to other circumstances, but Renwick noticed customers are surprised when they get the extra discount on their items.
Renwick added the other 25 per cent of customers know about the tax break but ask for clarification on what it's on.
Because Hello Baby sells a large variety of items, Renwick said around half her store applies for the tax break, while the other half does not. Because of this large difference, customers are often confused about where they can save money.
To avoid confusion, Renwick updated Hello Baby's website to include the price differences for items that get the tax break, while the store also emails select customers regarding the discount.
In Saskatchewan, the GST/HST is 5 per cent, so if an item is worth $800, a person can save $40. The item that Renwick has noticed being purchased more at her store from the tax-break is car seats for young children.
Hello Baby sells their car seats anywhere from $500 to $800, meaning a customer can save between $25 to $40 thanks to the tax break. She added, "there's definitely people [that have] been in [the store] looking for them to save that money, especially anybody that's kind of gearing towards a change, so they're outgrowing their infancy, for example, they're moving into a convertible, you know, it maybe isn't going to happen for a month, but why wait a month when you can save that little bit of money now."
In terms of whether she feels the GST/HST cuts have been effective in saving people money, Renwick said she feels the timing of the tax breaks could have been sooner.
"By December 15th in Saskatchewan, most people have already bought their boots, they bought their jackets, they bought their mitts, they bought their hats, so there isn't a need to kind of load up on those kind of things unless it's like a school-aged child or a little bit older, sometimes they've maybe outgrown their boots, they need another set of boots, and then it's a bonus that they don't have to pay the tax on that, but most of that stuff would have been already pre-bought."
Instead of making the tax break for two months, Renwick feels that if the tax break was "a little bit longer and over a full season, it would have given people a [better] chance to kind of get [the tax break] in their minds a little bit better [and sooner to plan on buying items at a discount]."
Renwick also suggested giving certain items a permanent tax break, like a car seat, so people are more aware of the savings. She added it is tough for small businesses to keep changing the price of their products on their website and in-store if the government decides to keep the temporary tax break each year.
While customers do save money from the break, businesses don’t lose out on any profit from the tax break, which could lead to an increase in revenue for small businesses.
Because the tax break is still recent, Renwick has not calculated the difference in the store's earnings from this year compared to past years.
She would not rule out the possibility of making a few extra thousand more dollars over the two months, which can be huge for her store.
"For any small business, any increase in sales [and] increase in revenues is always going to be a positive thing," she said.
Renwick feels the last week before the GST/HST break ends, there will be a surge in customers who will want to take advantage of savings.
The last day for the GST/HST break is Feb. 15, 2025. To learn more about what products get the tax breaks, visit
