Don't ask why but Statistics Canada groups books in with sporting goods, hobbies, and music.The picture shows total sales in Newfoundland and Labrador each months from january 2014 to October 2016 for these items.
The figures are in thousands of dollars.
The average per month over the whole period is about $9.8 million.
The two peaks are the pre-Christmas rush.
Everything on that list right there was subject to provincial sales tax for the whole list, except for the books. In 2015, the sector generated a little under $130 million in retail sales, in total.
The government's own estimate puts the value of the book tax at $2.1 million.
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