WHEREAS the 2010 federal government amendments to the Excise Tax Act have impacted employers such that they will be required to remit Harmonized Sales Tax HST on the deemed supply service they provide to pension plans; AND WHEREAS the expansion of scope pertaining to how the government views similar services involving municipal staff time in the future is a concern for the Association of Kootenay and Boundary Local Governments: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM engage in discussions with the Province of British Columbia to have this service exempted from the Harmonized Sales Tax.
Ministry of Finance The interpretation and administration of the deemed supply provisions for pension plans are the responsibility of the federal government. However, my officials have raised your members concerns about the administration required and costs incurred by local government pension operations with their counterparts at the federal Department of Finance. As you may be aware, the Canada Revenue Agency CRA issued a draft Notice 257 - The GSTHST Rebate for Pension Entities in October 2010. We had understood that a final Notice was expected to be released during 2011, but have recently been advised that the CRA is working towards releasing an updated Notice in early 2012. The Notice is intended to provide more clarity for taxpayers on the application of the provisions. If you have any specific suggestions to simplify the administrative requirements associated with the pension plan rules, please feel free to forward them to the federal Department of Finance andor the CRA.