From the Niagara Falls Review:
The $34-rebate cheque Akron, Ohio, residents Betty and Carlo Palmieri will receive after their weekend getaway to Niagara Falls doesn’t make or break them.
But it is a nice bonus for the retirees, who travel to the city every year.
“Actually, we bought other stuff with that rebate,” Betty said outside Niagara Duty Free Tuesday afternoon as they made their way home.
“It’s not much, but it does give us more money to spend while we’re here,” Carlo agreed.
To get a rebate of $34, the Palmieris would have spent $575 on accommodation and take-home items, both of which qualify for the GST rebate.
Things like food and gas – items consumed while in Canada – aren’t part of the program.
With only a few weeks left in the final part of the 2006 tourist season, this will be the last summer tourists will be able to claim their federal tax back as they return home.
On Monday, federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Treasury Board chairman John Baird announced $1 billion in programs would be scrapped over the next two years as the government works to reduce its debt load.