Bill C-30 · 44th Parliament · Justin Trudeau
Cost of Living Relief Act, No. 1 (Targeted Tax Relief)
An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (temporary enhancement to the Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax credit)
Government bill. Became law.
- IntroducedSept. 20, 2022
- Debated in principleSept. 28, 2022
- Studied by a committeeDone
- Passed its first chamberOct. 6, 2022
- Passed the second chamberOct. 18, 2022
- Became lawOct. 18, 2022
Leading supporters
Ranked by the part each played: who is responsible for the bill, who carried it, and who spoke for it most.
- Justin TrudeauPrime Minister
Who carries this bill
Arrows run from the person responsible to those who answer to them on this bill. The critic leads the Senate’s scrutiny and answers to no one on it.
What it set out to do
The Library of Parliament does not prepare Legislative Summaries for self-explanatory measures. The following is a short summary: On 20 September 2022, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance introduced Bill C-30, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (temporary enhancement to the Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax credit) (Cost of Living Relief Act, No. 1 (Targeted Tax Relief)), and it was given first reading. Bill C-30 amends the Income Tax Act in order to double the Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) credit for six months, effectively increasing the maximum annual GST/HST credit amounts by 50% for the 2022-2023 benefit year.
Summary by the Library of Parliament.
Where members stand
Votes and debate for this bill have not been read yet.
How it changed on the way
30% of the text as introduced was changed or removed by the time it became law (949 words introduced, 942 passed).
moderate changeintent mostly kept
The bill passed with only minor technical fixes to punctuation and cross-references in the shared-custody parent rule and related deemed-payment lists. Its central purpose of doubling the GST/HST credit for six months stayed intact.
- Corrected missing parenthesis and wording in the shared-custody parent provision.
Before: “but with the words qualified dependant in that section having the meaning assigned by subsection (1)) in respect of one or more qualified dependants at the beginning of a month”
After: “but with the words qualified dependant in that section having the meaning assigned by subsection (1) in respect of one or more qualified dependants at the beginning of a month”
How precisely it is written
preciseChallenging the law: HardDisputing a charge: Hard
The bill uses fixed dollar amounts, exact percentages, and specific dates in formulas to calculate one-time GST/HST credit top-ups. All eligibility rules refer to existing defined terms in the Income Tax Act rather than new subjective standards.
Clear-cut
“an amount determined by the formula 0.25 × (A – B) – C where A is the total of (a) $918, (b) $918 for the qualified relation, if any,”
Supplies concrete numbers and arithmetic instead of discretionary or qualitative tests.“the month specified in subsection (3.002) is October 2022 and the taxation year is the 2021 taxation year.”
Fixes the exact month and year with no room for administrative choice.“B is 15% of the amount, if any, by which the individual's adjusted income for the taxation year exceeds $39,826;”
Applies an objective income threshold and fixed rate with no qualifiers such as 'reasonable' or 'in the opinion of'.
Discretion. No power is delegated to ministers, officials or regulations; the formulas and dates are set directly in the statute.
Challenging the law itself. The provisions confer benefits through mechanical calculations and engage no obvious Charter rights that would support a vagueness or overbreadth claim.
Disputing a charge under it. Eligibility turns on verifiable facts such as income, filing status and family relationships already defined in the Income Tax Act, leaving little factual dispute.
Read by a language model from the royal assent text; every quoted phrase appears in the bill. A reading of the drafting, not legal advice.
Did it work?
no evaluation found
Who lobbied on it
No lobbying registration naming this bill is loaded.
Stages and dates from LEGISinfo.