We started talking about it yesterday as part of a general discussion of Canadian politics. I wasn't sure what "harmonized" meant, but it sounded nice. Well, as it turns out, "harmonized" is just a weasel word for "tax grab"!
The province has taken the liberty of combining GST and PST into a single (therefore "harmonized") sales tax, claiming it will be simpler and lead to more tax rebates for the lowest-income families, blah blah blah.
What it really means is that we'll now be paying PST as well on everything we currently pay GST on. Because I'm a student, my two greatest purchases are food and books--neither of which I've previously ever had to pay PST on! (Admittedly, most of my groceries are zero-rated--that is, the taxes are applied at a rate of 0%, meaning I'll continue not paying tax on them.) But seriously! How did McGuilty get away with this?!
And the best part? The memorandum published to explain the tax rules for food under GST and HST includes the following policy statements:
P-79R The Supply of Fondue Chocolate, P-81R Tax Status of De-Alcoholized Wine, P-213 GST/HST Status of Certain Ice Cream, Ice Milk, Sherbet, Frozen Yoghurt, Frozen Pudding Products, P-224 Meaning of Catering Services, P-232 Meaning of "Other Arrangements of Prepared Food", P-240 Application of GST/HST to Products Commonly Described as "Dietary Supplements" and P-241 Meaning of "Other Similar Snack Food" Under Paragraph 1(f) of Part III of Schedule VI to the Excise Tax Act.
Any government that has a policy statement about the supply of fondue chocolate is either brilliant or hopeless.
2 comments:
Ok, yes I realize this was an old post by you, but explain to me how you were getting away with not paying GST and PST on your food purchases??? And why you're paying 0% tax on a lot of them??? How can I get in on that deal??? Cause I've definately always been paying the full 14/13% tax on food.
Easy: I live in a cooler province.
Groceries are zero-rated in Ontario. I don't know what else to tell you.
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