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Information Regarding HST
What is HST?
HST stands for "Harmonized Sales Tax." The HST combines the GST tax and Sales tax into one harmonizes tax of 12%. The BC Provincial Government has announced that they plan to implement this new tax in July 2010.
How does this apply to camps and retreats at Qwanoes?
Any good or service that currently is charged the GST tax must now be charged the full HST tax. Yes, we agree with you...this is not fair for camps! Since 2007, Qwanoes was required to charge GST (please see Information Regarding GST below) so now Qwanoes will have to charge the HST.
How can I avoid paying HST on camp fees in 2010?
According to the current guidelines introduced by the BC Provincial Government, HST DOES NOT APPLY if the FULL payment is received by Qwanoes no later than April 30, 2010.
Example 1: If a camper registers for Junior High #2 (occurs in July) in February and pays the full fee, only the 5% GST will apply.
Example 2: If a camper registers for Junior High #2 (occurs in July) in February and pays the deposit, and then pays the balance to Qwanoes on April 30, 2010, only the 5% GST will apply.
Example 3: If a camper registers for Junior High #2 (occurs in July) in February and pays the deposit, and then pays the balance to Qwanoes on the first day of Junior High #2, HST of 12% will apply to the FULL FEE (including the deposit that was paid back in February).
Example 4: If a camper registers for Junior High #2 (occurs in July) on May 1, the HST will apply to the full fee.
Is there anything that I can do to help?
If you feel that charitable camps should not have to charge HST, please contact the local office of your Member of the Legislative Assembly http://www.leg.bc.ca/mla/3-1-1.htm. Or, contact Colin Hansen, the Minister of Finance at colin.hansen.mla@leg.bc.ca.
We continue to empathize with the parents, grand-parents, and friends of our campers who will soon have to pay HST on each camper's fee.
Information Regarding GST
Did Qwanoes charge GST on camp fees in the past?
Prior to January 2007, since the formation of GST in Canada in 1991, Camp Qwanoes and the majority of camps did not charge GST on summer camp and retreat fees.
Why did Qwanoes not charge GST on camp fees prior to January 2007?
It was our position that the GST legislation was very clear that GST did not apply to Qwanoes as well as to most camps. This belief was shared by the majority of camps in Canada, as well as by the Canadian Council of Christian Charities. In addition, in 1991 Camp Qwanoes asked Revenue Canada to clarify whether we needed to charge GST. Revenue Canada responded with a letter to Qwanoes in June 1991 that makes it clear that we did not have to charge GST.
For your information, when the GST was introduced the intent was that it would not apply to most charities.
Why did Qwanoes begin charging GST on summer camp and retreat fees as of January 2007?
Since 1998, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has been attempting to collect GST revenue from camps, stating that they should have been charging it. In 1998 CRA went after a camp called “Kahquah.” But, the Tax Court ruled
CRA was not happy with this decision. They filed an appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal but then discontinued it. CRA then tried unsuccessfully to persuade the Ministry of Finance to propose an amendment to the law to overturn the Kahquah decision.
To try to overturn the law, CRA then went after another camp as a test case, a Christian camp in Ontario called Camp Mini-Yo-We. In September 2005, the Tax Court ruled in favor of CRA, despite the precedent set with the Kahquah case. Unfortunately, in his ruling the judge did not provide a reason why one decision was made with Kahquah and a different decision was made with Mini-Yo-We. Although the Tax Court judge and the lawyers for both parties agreed that the cases were indistinguishable on the facts, the judge concluded without reasons that they were distinguishable. In giving his decision, the judge displayed negative feelings towards camps similar to Camp Qwanoes.
With the support of the Canadian Council of Christian Charities, Camp Mini-Yo-We appealed this decision to the Federal Court of Appeal. A decision was made on this appeal in late December 2006. The appeal failed. The result is that Qwanoes is now forced to charge GST on fees for summer camps and retreats.
As you can imagine, these cases have resulted in significant costs to the above camps.
Is there anything that I can do to help?
If you feel that charitable camps should not have to charge GST, please contact the local office of your Member of Parliament http://www.parl.gc.ca/. Or, contact Jim Flaherty, the Minister of Finance at flaherty.J@parl.gc.ca.
We continue to empathize with the parents, grand-parents, and friends of our campers who are now having to pay GST on each camper’s fee.