The HST Blog : Canada Harmonized Sales Tax Lawyer Cyndee Todgham Cherniak for Assessments, PST & RST Issues in Ontario, British Columbia & Quebec

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The Sudbury Star has posted an article that harmonized sales tax will cost the City of Sudbury $450,000 per year.  This will mean a budget shortfall and potentially higher municipal taxes. 

Under the federal Excise Tax Act (Canada), where a municipality makes exempt supplies (and cannot recover the amounts paid as GST as input tax credits), the municipality may claim a rebate of 100% of the GST.  So, under the GST regime, municipalities are tax neutral.  This will continue for the 5% GST portion of expenditure by municipalities.

However, under the HST, the 8% provincial component in Ontario is not fully recoverable.  There are two scenarios.  First, if the HST paid by the municipality matches with a exempt supply by the municipality, the rebate is 78% of the 8% provincial HST component.  For example, if a municipality paid $100,000 for third party snow removal services, the municipality would pay $5,000 GST (that is fully recoverable) and $8,000 OHST.  Only 82% of the $8,000 is recoverable by the municipality by way of a rebate.  The remaining 22% is an unrecoverable cost to the municipality.

Second, the municipality may be caught by the restricted input tax credit rules if the municipality sells more than $10 million in taxable supplies in a year.  I would expect that the City of Sudbury would fit into this category.  Under the restricted input tax credit rules, the OHST component of purchases of energy, certain telecommunications, certain vehicles and fuel and meals and entertainment are not recoverable for a number of years after implementation of HST.  For example, if the municipality purchases electricity that is allocable to taxable activities (e.g., the municipal skating rink, swimming pools, etc.) and the cost over a year is $1,000,000, the $80,000 in HST is unrecoverable if incurred in after July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2013.

HST also means that consumers will pay more for certain property and services acquired from the City.  The article provides the following examples:

* A one-year adult membership at Howard Armstrong Recreational Centre will jump from $218.25 to $235;

* A three-month child, youth or senior pass to city swimming pool will jump from $59.50 to $64;

* The 25-week Walk Your Way to Wellness Program for seniors will jump from $92 to $99;

* Ice rental for the Walden Oldtimers Hockey Tournament will go from $209 to $260;

* A plot in the city's Veteran's cemetery will go from $954 to $1,027;

* Adult athletic field rates will go from $57.50 per game to $62 per game. The cost of lights, if needed, will go from $17.75 an hour to $19 an hour;

* Renting the chalets at Adanac or Fielding Park for a Saturday night will jump from $174.75 to $188;

* Use of weigh scales at city landfill sites will jump from $16.25 to $17.50.