HST begins taxing Ontario on Saturday
Surprise! Happy May Day!
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CBC News
April 29, 2010
Prices for some services in Ontario will rise as of May 1, as the province starts phasing in the harmonized sales tax.
The eight per cent provincial sales tax will be eliminated July 1 and replaced with the 13 per cent HST. However, goods and services bought after tomorrow for use after July 1 will be subject to the new tax.
Booking a train or bus ticket on Saturday for a midsummer trip will be eight per cent more expensive because of the HST. Flights within Canada will also cost more, as will theatre and ballet tickets.
Gym memberships will also be subject to the HST – but only the portion to be used after July 1. Landscaping and other regular maintenance services will be hit with the new tax, too.
But buy a magazine subscription before July 1 and your purchase won’t be subject to the HST. And while death and taxes may be the two things we can’t avoid in life, you’ll pay less tax if you pre-pay your funeral before May 1 and make it past July 1.
When the HST is fully implemented, prices for one in six goods and services will rise in Ontario. Among the items to be affected are:
- Energy, including electricity, gasoline, diesel and home-heating fuels.
- Home renovations.
- Taxi fares and parking.
- Home internet services.
- Legal fees and real estate commissions.
The Ontario Ministry of Revenue first announced it was harmonizing the PST with the GST in March 2009. Six months later, the ministry revealed the rules that would govern the transition to the next tax.
The HST is supposed to help make businesses more competitive by reducing their costs. Businesses currently pay PST on what they spend on manufacturing goods and providing services. Under the HST, businesses will receive refunds for those sales taxes. The savings should be reflected in lower prices for their products.
British Columbia is also implementing the HST on July 1. However, prices won’t change until the tax takes effect. The legislation establishing the new tax is expected to pass by the end of this week.
Source | See also under Taxation: Auditor General produces new warning on E Health record plan | Flaherty wins delay in decision on global bank tax at interim G20 meeting | Unconstitutional? Ontario government slips another new energy tax in under the radar | Bankers Prepare To Assault Americans With VAT, Transaction Taxes | First Nations protest against HST | Montreal flirting with road tolls | GTA road tolls are inevitable, professor says | Global bank tax urged by IMF | Canadian taxes fastest-growing expense: Report | BC Govt, Anti-HST Campaigners Dispute Legality of Pro-HST Leaflet | Flaherty stands firm against new bank tax | Toronto mayor David Miller uses subway PA to push for funding | Electricity rates surge in Ontario | Up to 50,000 protest Charest’s tax hikes | Paul Volcker: VAT, Carbon taxes may be necessary | Nova Scotia budget hikes HST rate | Newfoundland residents protest national park fees on ‘traditional’ land | HST fight makes allies of B.C. political foes | Ottawa busker bylaw enforced | Thousands protest Quebec budget | HST legislation introduced in B.C. | Nicolas Sarkozy under fire after carbon tax plan shelved | More stimulus spending coming | MP Charlie Angus Introducing Private Copying Levy Bill, Flexible Fair Dealing Motion | Former premier Bill Vander Zalm rallies against the HST in BC | Ontario tax collectors get $45K severance, keep jobs in HST federalization deal | MEPs vote overwhelmingly for an EU Tobin Tax | Green energy bubbles threaten to pop at both Federal and Municipal levels | IMF chief calls for quota-based global warming slush fund | Frustrated Icelanders vent rage by voting no in referendum | EU considers general carbon tax | UK: Spy chips hidden in 2.5 million dustbins, councils plan 60% tax hike | Greece unveils radical austerity package | Tories hand out $75 billion worth of ’spending restraint’ | Obama unveils newest health-care plan | Gordon Brown’s plan for global bank tax ‘a step closer’ | EU leaders reach secret Greek bailout deal | HST ad campaign debuts in Ontario | The US budget: Barack Obama’s $3.8 trillion red ink blueprint | Global Bank Insurance Levy Wins Support over Transaction Tax at Davos | Cellphone fines up to $500 for Ont. drivers start Monday | IMF warns against retreat from stimulus spending | Terence Corcoran: Ontario puts $10B in the wind | EU urged to adopt bank supertax | Flaherty’s economic plan blasted as leading to taxation or cuts | Obama ponders bank transaction levy to recoup bailout shortfalls | Running a red light? It’ll cost you big time now | See more in The Memory Hole – Taxation
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