Talk:Sales taxes in Canada

Untitled
Should probably be merged with Goods and Services Tax (Canada)
 * Though, the PST has no place in a category about the GST. If anything, GST should be merged into here.  --216.106.111.91 05:35, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

PST Exemptions (Ontario)
There should be a discussion on the many PST-exempt items in Ontario. The govt hasn't done a good job of publicizing these items, and Citytv recently called out the government's laissez-faire attitude on this issue. 

The provincial sales tax [PST] is embedded within the goods and services tax, therefore, the only goods and services in Ontario that would be exempt would be those goods and services under Schedule V to the Excise Tax Act. However, the Ontario government does have some point of sale rebates that are available to buyers of goods and services. Stuartmain (talk) 06:59, 7 February 2022 (UTC)

PST Reduction in Sask
Just updated about the PST reduction in Sask. It's going from 7% to 5% tonight at midnight and they just told us retailers today. Rovaals 19:10, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

14% total for Ontario?

 * "In Canada, the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) combines the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and certain Provincial Sales Taxes (PST) into a single, blended, sales tax. Currently, there is a 14% HST in the provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia. The HST is collected by the Canada Revenue Agency, which then remits the appropriate amounts to the participating provinces."

Reading through this article, shouldn't Ontario be added to the list of New/New/Nova? It has an 8% PST and its HST is listed as totally 14% as well. Or is it a separate issue? It's rather confusing. Tyciol 16:08, 22 August 2007 (UTC)


 * No. Ontario collects PST on its own, and the Canada Revenue Agency collects GST from Ontario-based transactions. In total, they amount to 14%. The Harmonized Sales Tax is collected by the federal agency, and is a distinct issue. Mind  matrix  16:37, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

GST = 5% and PST = 8% == 13% There was a reduction to the GST rate. Stuartmain (talk) 07:03, 7 February 2022 (UTC)

Tax rate error for Quebec listing
There is an error in the listed Quebec sales tax rate. The actual current rate is 6.5%, not 7.5%.

Tax rate error for Quebec and PEI listing
There is an error in the listed Quebec and PEI note.

in Quebec, combined rate column, combined rate is 11.5%, not 12.875%

in Quebec, note column, the effective rate is 11.5%, not 7.875%

in PEI, combined rate column, combined rate is 15%, not 15.5%

in PEI, note column, the effective rate is 15%, not 10.5%

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.37.85.181 (talk) 17:34, 3 November 2007 (UTC)


 * The original numbers were correct. Some provinces apply taxes on too of the GST, for example PEI's rate is 5% GST + 10% provincial rate + (10% of 5% = 0.5% provincial rate on GST) = 15.5%. This gives an effective provincial rate of 10.5%. Mind  matrix  16:10, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

Should add the rest of Canada
This article is incomplete in that it only includes the provinces and none of the territories. Here's a list of what needs added.

- The Yukon Territories

- The Northwest Territories

- Nunavut

- Nunavik

216.126.119.170 (talk) 16:03, 3 March 2009 (UTC)CG

Nunavik is not a territory (or a province, for that matter). It is a specific region of Quebec, pertaining to the area along Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay, inhabited primarily by Inuit people. I daresay that if the 1912 boundary expansion had not taken place until the late 20th century, it would not have been blindly added to Quebec without considering the wishes of the inhabitants to be part of Quebec or be part of an Inuit territory. It is a distinctive area, just not a territory. GBC (talk) 23:10, 3 January 2017 (UTC)

GST is a federal tax imposed on most goods and services supplied in Canada. Therefore, it’ll be applied on most goods and services whether a supply was taking place in NWT, Yukon, or Nunavut … or any other province. Stuartmain (talk) 07:07, 7 February 2022 (UTC)

Is HST = PST?
In the first paragraph, it is mentioned that there are 3 types of taxes, then it goes on to equate PST with HST, which is confusing. This needs to be clarified. --99.229.98.16 (talk) 12:43, 4 July 2009 (UTC)

HST is the result when you combine the provincial sales tax to the goods and services tax. Stuartmain (talk) 06:54, 7 February 2022 (UTC)

Real Name Of B.C. PST And Taxable Goods
As I understand it, the B.C. PST has been enacted as the Social Service Tax. I don't know where you could look to verify this though. Which documents are taxes written out in? Also taxable goods are properly known as Tangible Personal Property (TPP).174.6.130.25 (talk) 00:19, 27 July 2009 (UTC)BeeCier

Why do Canadians quote the price before tax?
I've come to Canada from Australia. Australia has 10% GST, but whenever the cost of an item is written, the GST is included in the cost. In Canada, I get confused and annoyed because when I get an item, lets say a $3 coffee, I take $3 out of my wallet then the cashier asks for $3.36. I don't care that everything is taxed, but I need an explanation for why the pre-tax price is written on price tags rather than the full cost. Can someone explain? 206.87.4.212 (talk) 17:58, 24 November 2010 (UTC)


 * Coz that is the way to deceive the customers. Show less that the actual price!


 * It is Canadian custom to not include the tax, although there are exceptions such as price-at-the-pump gas sales. We like to know what we're being taxed.  Just a difference in customs.  Like in Australia, you include the access code in your long distance codes, e.g. 02 for Sydney, instead of dial zero, then area code 2 (and for overseas, you probably were told to dial 00117 to call Russia, instead of "dial 0011, then the country code 7"); here, we separate the codes, saying you dial 1, then the area code, and to call Russia, dial 011, then country code 7. (For readers who don't get it, the access code for long distance varies by country - international calls being prefixed 0011 from Australia, 011 from North America, and 00 from many other countries.) GBC (talk) 16:21, 18 December 2015 (UTC)


 * I don't think your comment on country codes are correct. AFAIK in Australia as in much of the world the country code is generally separated from the access code. In the pre internet era, I'm pretty sure you would find lists of country codes in various phones books for example. Nil Einne (talk) 17:22, 27 August 2016 (UTC)


 * Likely political; not to deceive but to inform. Taxes are unpopular, and the political party which created the GST is one normally averse to taxation, even though the value-added GST replaced a much less efficient regressive tax which did have its price hidden in the cost to the consumer. Revealing the cost of the tax to the consumer was probably a backroom political deal to get the tax passed in the first place. Plus, when later politicians reduce the tax, they can point to the effect right on consumers' bills. You don't like that we add $7 to your $100 phone bill? Well good news, now it's $5! Vote Quimby.


 * All just conjecture, of course. Ivanvector 🍁  (talk) 20:48, 27 August 2016 (UTC)

Dr. Bird's comment on this article
Dr. Bird has reviewed this Wikipedia page, and provided us with the following comments to improve its quality:

"There are many inaccuracies. To cite only the introduction -- the QST does not fit any of the 'three types' initially set out...a categorization that is itself not very useful. Similarly, para 2 is wrong since it does not mention the different system in Quebec, and the last sentence of para 3 is irrelevant (and introduces a completely different set of issues)..

In the PST section, again the discussion is confused. All provinces (except AB) impose or levy separate PSTs. In 5 of those provinces (as correctly noted in intro) those taxes take the form of a VAT and are administered at no cost to the provinces [which this piece does not mention] along with the federal GST by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). In Quebec, the PST is also a VAT (the QST or TVQ) and is administered by the Quebec Revenue Department, which also administers the federal GST in that province [and is paid by the federal government for doing so] - a very important point not mentioned in this writeup. In the 4 western provinces (including BC before 2010 and since 2013, as correctly reported here), the PST takes the form of a retail sales tax (RST) similar to that found in most US states and is administered by the provincial governments.

It is true that the RSTs 'cascade' in the sense that they re imposed on some goods and services used by businesses - a problem that is much less important with VATs (though not non-existent) but I see no point in mentioning this here unless it is dealt with more clearly in another entry, which could then be cross-referenced.

Because the base of the RST -- and PSTs may, to repeat, be either RSTs or VATs, contrary to usage here -- differs from that of the VAT, it is not very useful to add up the two 'rates' as is done in the table, except, of course, when the PST is like the GST a VAT, which means only for the HST provinces and - perhaps - Quebec.

Finally, there are now no provinces in which the PST, regardless of the form it takes, is applied to the GST, contrary to what is said here, so the statement about provincial revenues changing with the GST rate is wrong. .

It should probably also be mentioned that not only can the HST provinces set their rates as they wish, they can also deviate to a limited extent (up to 5% of the federal base) from the GST base as well as providing rebates to different extents to public agencies, charities, and housing, and still have their taxes administered by free by CRA. Most HST provinces grant additional concessions but then have to administer themselves. In addition, Quebec and Ontario also impose some limits on the extent to which certain firms can claim credits for taxes on their inputs, although only for a few years."

We hope Wikipedians on this talk page can take advantage of these comments and improve the quality of the article accordingly.

Dr. Bird has published scholarly research which seems to be relevant to this Wikipedia article:


 * Reference : Richard M. Bird, 2012. "The GST/HST: Creating an Integrated Sales Tax in a Federal Country," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper1221, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.

ExpertIdeasBot (talk) 00:51, 26 May 2015 (UTC)

Newfoundland increase canceled for 2016
On Dec 16, the federal revenue department indicated that the new provincial government is canceling the Jan 1, 2016 increase that was legislated by the previous government. This change is due to the November 2015 provincial election change of government. The rate will stay at 13%. GBC (talk) 16:14, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
 * Do you have a reliable source we could use to add this to the article? Ivanvector 🍁 (talk) 16:19, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
 * http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/hst-hike-cancelled-1.3367171 GBC (talk) 17:27, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
 * Thanks, I went ahead and made the edit. Ivanvector 🍁 (talk) 17:42, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

Christian De B. comment on this article
As far as i know, taxes are not cascaded anymore, in any province. Correct me if i'm wrong.

Section for New Housing Rebate
Information to be added or removed: Sales taxes on new or significantly renovated housing used as a primary residence may be eligible to have a portion of charged federal and provincial sales taxes rebated. New homes valued up to $450,000 may be eligible for a 36% rebate on GST charged up to a maximum of $6,300. Provincial sales tax rebate programs on new housing are offered in Ontario, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, and Quebec (for QST). Terms and conditions vary by province.

Explanation of issue: I believe there should be an additional section regarding the New Housing Rebate offered by both provincial and federal governments.

References supporting change:

My previous contribution was reversed due to the inclusion of what was considered to be a "spammy link". I disagree, but that's a different point.

COI disclosure: I am an employee of Wowa Leads, Inc., a real estate and financial services company in Canada that aims to promote transparency in the real estate industry.

P.S. If you have any suggestions for my formatting, please let me know. I'm still new to Wikipedia and I would appreciate it.

Bsl4canadian (talk) 21:04, 24 July 2020 (UTC)
 * The content is already in the article. As it is sourced to a government site, I don't see a reason to remove it. &spades;PMC&spades; (talk) 21:56, 10 September 2020 (UTC)

No taxes ever
What would have happened if the GST, HST, PST, QST and the RST were implemented made at all? Nate-Dawg921 (talk) 02:25, 3 September 2021 (UTC)