robinson@ubc-ean.CDN (Jim Robinson) (10/30/84)
*
Read an article a while back that claimed that any goods
bought in Alberta, where there is no provincial sales tax,
would have to have B.C. prov. sales tax paid on them ( to the B.C.
gov't ) before they could be used in B.C.
Thus, if I wanted to buy a car in *Alberta* and bring it back to
B.C. I would have to pay *B.C.* provincial sales tax on it.
And if an Alberta construction company wanted to do some work
in B.C. it would have to pay B.C. sales tax on any equipment that
was initially purchased in Alberta that was to be used in the
B.C. job, even though this equipment would be going right back
to Alberta when the job was finished.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out who loses in this one,
but my question is does the B.C. gov't have the *legal* right
to impose a provincial *sales* tax on goods that were *not* sold
in B.C !?!?!?!?! Any takers ?
( especially consider the Alberta construction company case
where the goods are not even remaining in B.C. )
J.B. Robinsoncustead@sask.UUCP (Der cuss) (10/31/84)
>> It doesn't take a genius to figure out who loses in this one, >> but my question is does the B.C. gov't have the *legal* right >> to impose a provincial *sales* tax on goods that were *not* sold >> in B.C !?!?!?!?! Any takers ? since I know nothing about the law I will take you up on this one. I think the key point is that they are not imposing a tax on the goods, they are imposing a tax on you. Since you are a "citizen" of B.C., they have the right to impose any old tax they like on you (within constitutional limits, of course). It is relevant here to note that if you buy something by mail-order from Ontario (substitute any other province with a sales tax), you do not pay Ontario Sales Tax, even though you are buying Ontario goods from an Ontario business. Only Ontario residents would pay this tax. (You are supposed to remit the tax to your own government, which was the starting point of the original article.) This is why I suggest that the tax is not being imposed on the goods, but rather on the residents.
dave@utcsrgv.UUCP (Dave Sherman) (11/01/84)
Jim Robinson asks: || ... does the B.C. gov't have the *legal* right || to impose a provincial *sales* tax on goods that were *not* sold || in B.C !?!?!?!?! Any takers ? I haven't checked the applicable B.C. legislation, but it's likely along the same lines as Ontario's. Ontario's Retail Sales Tax Act imposes a tax on the "consumption or use" or goods. Got that? A tax on consumption or use. It is *not* a tax on the sale or purchase. The sale or purchase is the point at which the tax is collected for obvious reasons of convenience. The Retail Sales Tax Act provides that when goods are imported into Ontario, they become subject to Ontario sales tax. (Whether, as a practical matter, it can always be collected is another matter entirely.) The B.C. sales tax legislation obviously does the same thing. And yes, it's legal. Dave Sherman The Law Society of Upper Canada Toronto -- { allegra cornell decvax ihnp4 linus utzoo }!utcsrgv!dave
perelgut@utai.UUCP (Stephen Perelgut) (11/01/84)
My understanding is that goods purchased in other provinces in the good faith that they would be used in those provinces are not taxable. In other words, as in the case of a very lawful and meticulous friend of mine, a car bought in Manitoba while living in Man. is not taxed when you move to Ont. to start a new job. In the case in question, he had lived in Man. and gone to school for 6 years and bought the car just prior to accepting a job in Ottawa. He even drove the same car back to Man. to get married. On the other hand, the law seems to exist to prevent people from crossing a border and buying things cheaper. Anyone want to discuss bringing Brador to Ont. from QUebec back in the dark ages (1975-77)?
mart@utcsrgv.UUCP (Mart Molle) (11/01/84)
> > Thus, if I wanted to buy a car in *Alberta* and bring it back to > B.C. I would have to pay *B.C.* provincial sales tax on it. > And if an Alberta construction company wanted to do some work > in B.C. it would have to pay B.C. sales tax on any equipment that > was initially purchased in Alberta that was to be used in the > B.C. job, even though this equipment would be going right back > to Alberta when the job was finished. > > J.B. Robinson Although I can't offer Dave Sherman's legal insight into the problem, I *have* bought a car in Manitoba while I was a resident of Ontario. I was told that as a resident of Ontario I could claim that I was *exempt* from Manitoba sales tax, because as Dave pointed out the goods were not for use in Manitoba. Instead, I should be paying my sales tax to Ontario. Same idea as all those mailorder houses that say "residents of <some state or province> please add x% sales tax". In practice one could make this claim whenever you purchased an unregulated/unlicensed item, such as stereo gear, out of the province and avoid paying any tax to anyone. However, automobiles are licenced, so the government catches up with you when you try to get plates. My first set of Ontario license plates for that car were *very* expensive... The question about your Alberta company doing business in B.C. is less obvious, even based on reasonableness rather than law. On one hand, it is an *Alberta* company with an Alberta address, which suggests that any sales tax it owes should go there. On the other hand, it is *working* in B.C., and if you or I go to work in another province for any length of time, I think we are supposed to become residents of that province and put local plates on our cars, etc. (The Ontario auto registration permit that I carry around in my wallet states that I have *six* *days* to notify them of a change of address -- and they would probably object to my sending them a B.C. address.) On the third hand, it is a company rather than an individual, and continuing with the vehicle registration analogy governments are well known to make a distinction (generally in their favour) in the treatment of commercial vehicles. That's why Greyhound buses are covered with license plates from every conceivable jurisdiction that they might enter. I don't think I'd want to guess this one... Mart Molle Computer Systems Research Institute University of Toronto
dave@utcsrgv.UUCP (Dave Sherman) (11/01/84)
As to the Alberta construction equipment being used in B.C., remember
that the tax is one on "consumption or use", so the use of the equipment
likely would be subject to sales tax. However, the legislation may well
provide for either or both of (a) an exception for temporary equiment,
and (b) a refund mechanism based on the amount of use, after the equipment
has left the province.
For another interesting example of how the Ontario tax is levied,
look at your phone bill any time you've made a call which was charged
to your number but neither originated or ended in Ontario (or
whatever province you're in, if it taxes phone service). If you
make a call from New York to New Jersey and charge it to your home
number in Canada, you will find it specially billed as "non-taxable".
Dave Sherman
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{ allegra cornell decvax ihnp4 linus utzoo }!utcsrgv!dave