A recent CIBC poll finds that almost half (44 per cent) of Canadians who have received a tax refund plan on using their windfall to pay off credit cards, debt or bills rather than saving or investing it.
Key findings of the poll include:
Of the 54 per cent of Canadians expecting a refund this year, more than one in five (22 per cent) plan to use the refund to reduce high-interest debt like credit cards;
An almost equal number (21 per cent) don't know what to do with it; and,
Just 10 per cent plan to save or invest the funds.
"A tax refund isn't really a windfall," says Jamie Golombek, Managing Director, Tax and Estate Planning, CIBC. "It's simply a sign that you've been lending your hard-earned money to the government and now you're getting your own money back, interest-free. It's time Canadians reevaluate how they think about refunds."