By now you’ve heard the results of BC’s recent referendum on the HST. In a somewhat close vote, the majority of British Columbians have voted to axe the tax. Already the “what now?” questions about the process of reverting to GST and PST are starting to fill the airwaves, newspapers, and inboxes of accountants around the Province. At this time, the provincial government has not yet announced the specifics of its reversion plan, but it has shared a few key points:

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If you had to ask most business owners or taxpayers one word they don’t want to hear it is likely they would say “audit”.  However, it is quite probable that at some point you will experience some level of audit in the area of either GST/HST or income tax and because of the administrative changes ...

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The BC Government claims that the introduction of HST will lower compliance costs because businesses no longer have to collect, remit and account for two separate taxes. However, the compliance burden related to GST for large businesses will actually likely increase with HST, even though they no longer have to account for PST. This is ...

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This is the fourth in a series of articles about dealing with the implementation of the new HST on July 1, 2010. This article discusses what will change and what will stay the same on July 1. The implementation of HST is remarkably similar for BC and Ontario, both provinces having cooperated with each other ...

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This is the second in a series of articles about the introduction of HST in BC on July 1, 2010. This article focuses on how HST impacts the construction industry. There is a complex set of transition rules affecting construction contracts. For the construction industry, it’s not as simple as “charge GST until June 30, ...

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This is the third in a series of articles about the introduction of HST in BC on July 1, 2010. This article focuses on filing the final PST return before the implementation of HST. Final PST returns for taxes collected before July 1, 2010 are required to be filed on or before July 23, 2010. ...

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This is the first in a series of articles about dealing with the implementation of the new HST on July 1, 2010. Later articles will address industry specific issues pertaining to certain industries. If you are lucky enough to only have to change the tax rates in your point of sale program or accounting package, ...

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With the implementation of the BC HST on July 1, 2010 coming up soon, there are some big changes to the rules regarding purchasing new housing. The biggest change, of course, is that the 12% HST will apply to new houses (or substantially renovated houses) sold where possession takes place after June 2010. Any sales ...

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GST applies to most goods and services that non-profit organizations supply except when they are sold under specific conditions. Like a for profit business, a non-profit organization can be a small supplier, if it supplies GST taxable goods or services under the threshold. However, the threshold for a non-profit organization is $50,000 of taxable supplies ...

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A review of when to register for GST and the reporting requirements required by a taxable, exempt and zero-rated business. For some small businesses, the GST is not a concern, particularly where the business is not the chief source of income or activity for the owner. Specifically, if the business makes less than $30,000 per ...

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