Federal budget 2013: Cheaper hockey gear, baby clothes

The 2013 Federal budget unveiled on Thursday eliminates import tariffs on baby clothes and most sports equipment, in an attempt to bring down prices that are visibly higher in Canada than in the U.S., giving up $76 million a year in tax revenue. Consumers will only see savings if retailers pass them on. 

Here is a list of the items affected:

Sporting equipment:

• Hockey sticks.
• Ice skates.
• Curling stones.
• Gloves for baseball, golf, cricket and other sports.
• "Other equipment (including wooden baseball bats)".
• Waterproof ski boots "of plastics."
• Cross-country ski footwear.
• Snowboard boots.
• Skis other than downhill skis.
• Ski-fastenings.
• Ski poles "and other equipment."
• Sailboards.
• Waterskis, surfboards "and other water sport equipment."
• Golf clubs, individual or sets, or parts of golf clubs.
• Golf balls, and hollow golf balls for practice.
• Table-tennis equipment.
• Inflatable balls other than basketball, volleyball, or soccer.
• Cricket balls.
• Non-inflatable balls other than croquet, squash, raquetball, lawn bowling, and carpet bowling.
• Roller skates.
• Exercise, gymnastics and athletics equipment.
• Archery equipment
• Clay pigeons for trapshooting, and target-throwing machines.
• Automated batting cages, throwing or pitching machines.
• Leg pads or bats for cricket.
• Shin-guards, elbow or shoulder pads, excluding those for football.
• Waist, thigh and hip protective equipment.

Baby clothes

• Babies' garments of cotton, synthetic fibres, textile materials, wool or fine animal hair.