Step up: Freeland urges provinces to follow Ottawa on tax holiday – National [Video]

The federal government is calling on the provinces to “step up” and drop their sales taxes on certain items in line with Ottawa’s proposed two-month relief period.

But Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland won’t confirm whether Ottawa will compensate the provinces with a harmonized sales tax who are set to see a shortfall in planned revenue under the proposed “tax holiday.”

Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced plans to waive the GST and HST on a select number of items starting Dec. 14 in what he called a “break” for Canadians struggling with the higher cost of living.

In provinces with the harmonized sales tax, the federal government remits a portion of the proceeds to the provinces, rather than imposing a separate GST at the federal level and the PST in the provincial jurisdiction.

New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt told Information Morning Frederictonlast week that the tax holiday was a “surprise” to her new Liberal government, given only a day’s …