Do I dare to write about the HST? I don’t, much, because I don’t know much about it. Nonetheless, let me share with you an insight about the Ontario HST that might make your practice life a little easier.
Some weeks ago I was rooting around looking for the Ontario legislation implementing the HST. I assumed that, as with personal and corporate income tax, I would find a federal statute imposing the 5% portion and a corresponding provincial statute imposing the 8% provincial portion of the HST. I expected that the provincial statute would incorporate the federal statute by reference and then delegate collection of the two taxes to the CRA.
I was wrong. Subsection 165(2) of Part IX of the Excise Tax Act imposes the provincial portion of the HST. That is, the HST is a single federal tax. The federal government, by agreement with Ontario, shares part of the HST revenue with it, but the tax itself is imposed only by federal legislation.
What does this mean practically speaking? Among other things, it means that a vendor need not obtain a new number from the CRA for the HST; the “old” GST number will suffice. Moreover, for section 167 elections, the GST44 continues to be the right form, and it is not necessary to file a separate form for the Ontario portion or use a special form that is applicable only in Ontario. The GST44 form used in Alberta will also be valid in Ontario because the same tax—the value-added tax imposed by Part IX of the Excise Tax Act—applies in both provinces. Only the rates differ.
Some things do differ from province-to-province with respect to the 8% portion, of course. For details on these points, please refer to the numerous online resources that are available.
