Food, children’s clothes and books will be exempt from the tax, but there are few exceptions such as colouring books and calendars
Groceries
This includes beer, wine and cider, pre-mixed beverages with less than seven per cent alcohol, carbonated beverages, fruit juice and fruit-flavoured drinks, candy, gum, chips, popcorn, salted nuts and granola and fruit bars.
Also on the list: ice cream, frozen yogurt, puddings, cakes, muffins, pies and other baked goods that aren’t already tax-free. Prepared salads, sandwiches, cheese trays and other food arrangements are also covered.
Restaurants
The rules apply to all food and beverages at both dine-in and take-out establishments, as well as delivery: restaurants, coffee shops, pubs, mobile canteens, lunch counters, concession stands, etc. In addition, food and beverages sold by catering services are also tax-free.
Children’s clothing and other items
Clothing designed for babies and children up to size 16 (for girls) and size 20 (boys) are covered. This includes winter items such as mittens and gloves, children’s footwear up to an insole length of 24.25 centimetres, children’s diapers, and approved children’s car seats and booster seats.
Not covered, the government says, are “garments of a class that are used exclusively in sports or recreational activities.”
Printed items
Print newspapers will be deemed tax-free, although electronic or digital publications will not. Also, printed books and audio books are covered, as are “bound or unbound printed version(s) of scripture of any religion.”
Not on the list: magazines or periodicals purchased individually and not part of a subscription, books designed to be written in, colouring books, scrap books, calendars, agendas, or “an assemblage of charts or an assemblage of street or road maps.” Guidebooks and atlases that consist of maps that are not street or road maps will, however, be tax-free.
Toys, games and Christmas trees
Products designed for use by children under 14 will be tax-free, provided they are board games or cards games, dolls or plush toys, construction toys or toys that imitate another item, such as a toy car, toy farm or action figure.
In addition, the tax-free status will apply to jigsaw puzzles for all ages, as well as video game consoles and physical media such as video game cartridges or discs.
Finally, Christmas trees “or similarly decorative trees,” whether natural or artificial, will be included.
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