Harmonized Sales Tax (HST)
Are you ready for HST? No matter what you heard about HST, it's here to stay!
At BAASS we have had an overwhelming response to our HST Workshops. Over a 160 of our clients have attended our series of workshops thus far and found the content to be informative and practical. Request a personal HST Training session for your organization. HST is an issue that is at the top of mind for many of us. To help you understand how HST will affect your organization and how you should implement HST at your company. Why the HST Ontario's comprehensive tax package, including the harmonized sales tax, will create jobs by making Ontario more competitive and provide personal tax relief. The world has changed. We've witnessed the biggest global economic downturn in 80 years. If we want Ontario to remain strong, we must change too. We need to be more competitive. We need to attract more investment and jobs. We need to protect those important services like health care and education we've worked so hard to build. Many economists and businesses agree that a single value-added tax, like the HST, is the most important thing we can do to strengthen Ontario's economy. We have a choice: we can refuse to fix what's broken, resign ourselves to the idea that Ontario will be less competitive, and watch our province move backward. Or we can move forward, embrace change and hold firm to the conviction that Ontario can emerge through this stronger than ever before. How it works The fact is, our current sales tax structure hurts job creation. Right now the PST is charged on many purchases made by businesses in manufacturing goods and providing services. It penalizes business by taxing them at every step in the production, distribution and retail processes – making it a tax on a tax on a tax. Roughly $4.5 billion in embedded sales tax is hidden in the cost of doing business in Ontario. It drives up costs to consumers and places Ontario's businesses at a competitive disadvantage. Most countries we compete with for jobs don't have that disadvantage. The HST will generally remove this hidden tax by refunding sales taxes paid on most business inputs. These refunds will mean lower prices for many consumer purchases and lower business costs, which experts agree will improve the competitiveness of Ontario businesses and result in increased business investment, leading to more jobs and higher incomes. What to expect by taking engaging in our training: Harmonized tax – general rules and considerations HST and how it impacts your Sage Accpac and/or your Microsoft Dynamics NAV system- action plan  How the right technology can help you comply with the new standards Did you know that…. You have to start collecting HST starting May 1 for services/products delivered after July 1? You might be required to Net File (efile) after July 1? There's a penalty for remitting the tax with the wrong method? You might have to recapture some of the ITCs on certain expenditures? You have to amend the return if made a mistake on recapture amount? There's a deadline to file your final RST? Some items are exempt from the provincial portion of HST? You might have to set up new GL accounts to track the sales tax? You might have to modify your Accpac forms to accommodate the new tax? You might be asked by your customer to break down the taxes charged? (5% and 8%) You might need both GST and HST on the same bill or invoice for services/products that straddle the July 1 date? You might be audited for sales taxes collected/remitted during the transitional period? HST Notices Introduction to HST http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/notices/hst/01.html Residential Housing http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/notices/hst/02.html Transitional Rules http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/notices/hst/03.html Additional info on housing http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/notices/hst/04.html Temporary RITC http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/notices/hst/05.html Place of supply rule http://www.fin.gc.ca/n10/data/10-014_1-eng.asp HST info sheets http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/menu/GHIS-e.html About the Presenter: Mark Chou, MBA, CPA Mark is a Certified Consultant and a lead driver in our partnership with Seneca College. BAASS, a long time supporter of the college, is instrumental in providing content and delivering the course essentials to aspiring accountants of tomorrow. Mark has a wide breadth of expertise ranging from Simply Accounting to the Sage Accpac ERP platform. Mark possesses a strong business foundation; he holds a Schulich School of Business MBA and an undergraduate designation from the University of Toronto. Mark holds a Certified Public Accountant designation from the United States (CPA). Mark's personal interests include rock climbing and self-training for triathlons.	Request HST Training "Thank you BAASS. The HST Workshop is very valuable, especially those options and the detailed procedures regarding HST implementation within SageAccpac." Ping Xie, ETFO Why the HST How it Works What to Expect Did you know HST Notices HST Info Sheets Our HST Expert