Ontario extends PST break for ‘green’ appliances
TORONTO, ONTARIO - Going green will continue to save you some green.
As first announced in the spring budget, the Ontario government is extending the provincial sales tax exemption on energy-efficient appliances and most bicycles.
Energy Star-rated refrigerators, freezers, washers, dehumidifiers and room air conditioners qualify, along with high-efficiency light bulbs and bicycles costing less than $1,000, Premier Dalton McGuinty said. The 8 per cent PST exemption on appliances and light bulbs will continue until Aug. 31, 2009, and is expected to cost the treasury about $52 million.
The tax break on bikes, helmets and other cycling safety gear will continue until Dec. 31, 2010, at a cost to provincial coffers of about $16 million.
McGuinty acknowledged his government was examining other ways to encourage consumers to choose more environmentally friendly products.
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British electricity generated from coal fell from 13.1 TWh (terawatt hours) in 2013 to 0.97 TWh in September 2019, and was replaced by other less emission-heavy forms of generation such as gas. The decline in coal generation accelerated substantially after the tax was increased in 2015.
In the report, 'The Value of International Electricity Trading', researchers from UCL and the University of Cambridge also…
