HST and the Dot CA !

[TheLegendaryJP]

Well it's that time of the year again so I challenged my accountant to find out come July if the HST in total would need to be applied to .ca sales I make. Seeing as a .ca can only be registered by a Canadian or one with status the GST applies, this is not open to debate. Since the HST will add 8% ( in Ontario ) I asked, will I be forced to add 8% to said sales. The short answer is yes, he cannot see a way to split the two taxes once they become one so the dot ca is now going to cost more among resellers/end users.

Personall I build the gst into my prices already and eat the 5% come tax time but now thanks to our great provincial leaders I have to either add 8% more or eat an additional 8%, meaning if I sold a name and never asked or added the tax I now get to eat 13%

I know some here add the 5% and pass it on but how do you feel about adding an additional 8% now. In such a tight and small market place the additional taxation becomes a factor in doing business and obviously not happy about it. I wonder how members from other provinces ( Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick ) have been handling the hst on their dot ca sales because I have NEVER seen anyone mention it apart from gst.

[Banned: theinvestor]

Increase your prices JP

[TheLegendaryJP]

I would gladly do so but that is not my concern. My concern is this, it is a tough enough market that adding even $XXX in tax is a deal killer.

So where are the members from those three provinces and why havent I heard HST mentioned before?

[Banned: theinvestor]

Who said that you had to tell them it was included in the price?

[TheLegendaryJP]

Who said that you had to tell them it was included in the price?

Again not really my point, I see what you mean of course but the fact remains our prices just went up 8%, seen or not

[Banned: theinvestor]

JP, that's a good thing for you Increase those prices.

BTW, no one talks about it...because the buyer doesn't care...he just wants a price. It is a bad idea to tell the buyer you are adding HST.

[TheLegendaryJP]

JP, that's a good thing for you Increase those prices.

BTW, no one talks about it...because the buyer doesn't care...he just wants a price. It is a bad idea to tell the buyer you are adding HST.

The buyer should care though considering most here have a business which has a GST number and thus can use the tax paid as a deduction.

[katherine]

I guess many Canadians here are trading as individuals and not as corporations.

[TheLegendaryJP]

I guess many Canadians here are trading as individuals and not as corporations.

I bet youre right.

[onlinestoreca]

Hey JP,

I'm from NB and usually just eat the taxes, it get's to complicated to start spelling out how much I have to charge to each buyer's location. It also doesn't go over well when I am selling to an individual that has to pay extra in taxes versus another possible buyer from somewhere else.

I am supposed to collect and remit the taxes as per the list below, but since I only have an NB presence, I don't legally have to collect the PST and RST. However the purchaser is then responsible to remit the appropriate taxes, which could really piss some people off later on.

In summary I legally have to remit GST for my sales in several provinces, but the ones with HST I have to remit the HST. So to keep things more easily marketable I will end up taking an extra 8% hit when I end up selling to someone in an HST province.

The list of taxes you should be collecting and remitting (voluntarily in most cases) currently looks like this:

• BC – GST & PST
• Alberta – GST
• Saskatchewan – GST & PST voluntarily (unless is home province)
• Manitoba – GST & PST
• Ontario – GST & RST if have a “business presence” (unless is home province)
• Quebec – QST
• New Brunswick – HST
• Nova Scotia – HST
• Newfoundland & Labrador – HST
• Prince Edward Island – GST & PST voluntarily (unless is home province)
• Northwest Territories – GST
• Nunavut – GST
• Yukon – GST

What a freakin mess .

If there are any other maritime domainers reading please pm. I am tired of having maritime domaining conventions by myself, the wife keeps asking questions about those weekends.

[stewie]

Plus JP you should be charging a tourist tax too, you are in the Niagara Falls area

not sure what its called but I know they have one.

[Namefox]

Hey JP, If there are any other maritime domainers reading please pm. I am tired of having maritime domaining conventions by myself, the wife keeps asking questions about those weekends.

Hahahahaahhaa...too funny. A one man convention!

[TheLegendaryJP]

Plus JP you should be charging a tourist tax too, you are in the Niagara Falls area

not sure what its called but I know they have one.

Thanks for the replies!


And yes we have a 20%! tourist tax for the tourist area, unreal but all you have to do is hand back the bill and say " I live here " and never ever in 30 years has anyone said prove it. Dont try this with a NY accent or eastern laid back approacvh, we are between ny city and nice lol

[6sons]

I have been collecting/submitting gst with no problem and intend to do the same with the extra 8%. I expect though that it will still come out of our end in tougher negotiated prices. But as consumers get used to it, with everything else out there subject to HST, it will become normal to pay it so thats why I am pressing the point now. Let the buyers take it out on the provincial government...not our pockets.

[TheLegendaryJP]

I have been collecting/submitting gst with no problem and intend to do the same with the extra 8%. I expect though that it will still come out of our end in tougher negotiated prices. But as consumers get used to it, with everything else out there subject to HST, it will become normal to pay it so thats why I am pressing the point now. Let the buyers take it out on the provincial government...not our pockets.

Hi Wayne, yes I believe on the tougher $XXX-$XXXX sales it could factor and end up coming from our pocket. The majority of .ca sales here or elsewhere tend to be in that range, some of us are fortunate enough to experience multiple 5 figure sales a year but it isn't easy

As for having to take things out of our end, it's starting to remind me of cutting commish lol Speaking of which see what CREA agreed to offer this week to settle the MLS dispute, not a huge bend in policy but allowing the one time fee still hurts a pinch, as long as people have concerns and questions they will use us

[6sons]

Hey Josh

I havent been keeping up to date with RE as I gave it up a couple of years ago.
What's CREA up to?

[TheLegendaryJP]

Hey Josh

I havent been keeping up to date with RE as I gave it up a couple of years ago.
What's CREA up to?

Basically they are saying our hold on MLS is anti competitive. It has been going on for a while now but CREA made their first major offer or " bend " stating they are willing to now accept a citizen paying a one time fee to list their property on MLS. It hasn't been accepted but rather assumed it will be rejected as they want the whole thing opened up like in the US having the seller control everything, negotiations, offers etc. Do I think it hurts realtors, sure to a degree but from experience people have so many questions, concerns and not to mention possible legal implications that they need us. In saying that it will hurt still. I have an aunt and cousin in the US and the change a while back didnt affect them much at all. The private seller was always going to be a private seller. If anything one can only hope horror stories emerge and the public realize the importance of having a licensed professional aid you in your selling. Most lawyers will disagree but then again who do these people turn to for closing and contracts..lawyers lol

[jaydub]

My wife and I (citizens) have sold our last 4 homes without an agent and had no issues. Got my lawyer to give us the paperwork needed to bring him once a price had been agreed upon.

I can't wait for the MLS to be available......it is a really good marketing tool

Basically they are saying our hold on MLS is anti competitive. It has been going on for a while now but CREA made their first major offer or " bend " stating they are willing to now accept a citizen paying a one time fee to list their property on MLS. It hasn't been accepted but rather assumed it will be rejected as they want the whole thing opened up like in the US having the seller control everything, negotiations, offers etc. Do I think it hurts realtors, sure to a degree but from experience people have so many questions, concerns and not to mention possible legal implications that they need us. In saying that it will hurt still. I have an aunt and cousin in the US and the change a while back didnt affect them much at all. The private seller was always going to be a private seller. If anything one can only hope horror stories emerge and the public realize the importance of having a licensed professional aid you in your selling. Most lawyers will disagree but then again who do these people turn to for closing and contracts..lawyers lol

[TheLegendaryJP]

My wife and I (citizens) have sold our last 4 homes without an agent and had no issues. Got my lawyer to give us the paperwork needed to bring him once a price had been agreed upon.

I can't wait for the MLS to be available......it is a really good marketing tool

Not saying it cannot be done properly or by some of the population but the fact is most people are affraid, uneducated and WILL make mistakes, not mention lazy. It's a factor in most of why we pay others to do things we could potentially do.

Out of those 4 homes you received the paper work from the lawyer, which is fine but when that 3rd houses basement turns out it leaks and the neighbor says you knew that from a year ago and no mention of it was made when they bought.... trust me there are and will be implications when people do it by themselves. Not that having a realtor stops those disputes but at least there is a paper trail.


If I was not a realtor by trade I could easily do it myself too but not the point, a lot of people are hustlers and those people have a hustle mentality! Be honest you weren't honest on all 4 sales, its nature. I have yet to run into a seller in 10 years that knows of an issue but would rather not disclose it or wish no one found it, I being a realtor advise to be forth coming and am bound to work fairly. When you approach a private seller they think there house is worth more and generally they do over price it, they lie like crazy and both the buyer and seller dont know half of the legal implications or how to handle negotiations. That is why I could care less iff MLS is opened up, people need us. The general pop could easily wash their own car, make their own food at lunch etc but they dont

[jaydub]

In B.C sellers have to sign a disclosure covering many areas of your home that you must sign and declare you have no knowledge of any issues. I am sure as an agent you are aware of this. The sad part is that it isn't mandatory across Canada.

We used agents for the first 8 homes we renovated and sold...and yes we are honest and hire a quality workforce to do our work.
We had 4 terrible agents (..no open houses...no advertising...just lip service) and 2 really good ones (we lost the the 2 good ones when we changed cities).

We do know that hard working agents are a real benefit and we had no problems paying commissions for that professionalism. But it became a crapshoot...we think primarily to everyone and their brother getting licenses in the boom times and agents doing what we called the "list and run".
I guess the bottom line is that if we hadn't run into the duds we would have just continued with agents but it made us so angry we sold one ourself ...saw we could do it and just continued from there.

Anyway....wasn't meant as a slam or indictment of all real estate agents LJP...just a comment/observation in response to your post....

Not saying it cannot be done properly or by some of the population but the fact is most people are affraid, uneducated and WILL make mistakes, not mention lazy. It's a factor in most of why we pay others to do things we could potentially do.

Out of those 4 homes you received the paper work from the lawyer, which is fine but when that 3rd houses basement turns out it leaks and the neighbor says you knew that from a year ago and no mention of it was made when they bought.... trust me there are and will be implications when people do it by themselves. Not that having a realtor stops those disputes but at least there is a paper trail.


If I was not a realtor by trade I could easily do it myself too but not the point, a lot of people are hustlers and those people have a hustle mentality! Be honest you weren't honest on all 4 sales, its nature. I have yet to run into a seller in 10 years that knows of an issue but would rather not disclose it or wish no one found it, I being a realtor advise to be forth coming and am bound to work fairly. When you approach a private seller they think there house is worth more and generally they do over price it, they lie like crazy and both the buyer and seller dont know half of the legal implications or how to handle negotiations. That is why I could care less iff MLS is opened up, people need us. The general pop could easily wash their own car, make their own food at lunch etc but they dont