The Great Hidden Toilet Paper Tax

By Richard Dowson Opinion/Commentary

Have you bought Toilet Paper lately?

The Feds and the Province tax the crap out of it! You pay an extra 11% in taxes for toilet paper.

Is toilet paper a luxury?

It is if you have just changed from using an old Sears catalogue. But, since Sears went out of business, toilet paper is a necessity, not a luxury.

A 5% Federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) and a 6% Provincial Goods and Services Tax make up the 11% tax applied to toilet paper.

Over the past 34 years Saskatchewan residents have become accustomed to the Federal GST. It was brought in by the Federal Conservative Government of Brian Mulroney on January 1, 1991.

The 6% Saskatchewan Provincial Goods and Services Tax is relatively new. So new it’s still called a Sales Tax. But it’s a Goods and Services Tax.

The Provincial Good and Services Tax is like the Federal GST, except the PGST applies to more stuff. For example, there is no Federal GST on Insurance Premiums. The Provincial GST is changed on Insurance Premiums.

The old Saskatchewan 5% Provincial Sales Tax became the 6% PGST in 2017.

The Saskatchewan Party of Brad Wall introduced the change on March 23, 2017 as part of the 2017-18 Budget. (The Saskatchewan Party is a ‘Conservative’ Party).

The 2017-18 Saskatchewan Budget increased the ‘Provincial Sales Tax’ (PST) from 5% to 6% and applied it to almost everything, making it a de-facto Goods and Services Tax.

Is there good tax news?

Of course! Next time you buy toilet paper and pay the 5% plus 6% tax, be happy you don’t have to use an old Sears catalogue,or newspaper flyers or computer printer paper.

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Writer Richard Dowson is a retired educator.

He is known for his frequenting local coffee shops and other places seniors gather.

In a previous life he wrote comedy for CHED in Edmonton.