Canada is one step closer to repealing its 10 percent excise tax on jewelry, following a vote in favor of its elimination in the lower house of Parliament last week.

The tax's repeal was included in the Canadian federal government's latest budget this February, and now has only to pass in the Canadian Senate. Approval, which is expected to be automatic, may occur as early as September.

Upon passage of the repeal, the jewelry excise tax is expected to immediately drop from 10 percent to 8 percent, with reductions of 2 percent taking place each year, beginning March 1, 2006, until the tax is eliminated entirely by March 1, 2009.

The Canadian jewelry industry has been lobbying for years to eliminate the tax, which is the only luxury tax remaining in Canada. Jewelry is the country's most heavily-taxed consumer product aside from alcohol, tobacco, and gasoline.

Source : Nationalejeweler.com

www.nationaljeweler.com