GST 101: GST REGISTRATION RULES
CANADA'S BROAD REGISTRATION RULES FOR ITS GST/HST SYSTEM
This is the first in our series of "GST 101 Reports", written with a view to educating our readers on the basics of Canada's GST/HST system, and building towards more in-depth discussions to come.
This Report Deals with Canada's extremely broad GST/HST Registration Requirements.
What is Canada's “GST/HST”?
WHEN DO I NEED A TAX OR TRADE LAWYER?
RETAINING A LAWYER AT AUDIT OR ASSESSMENT A WISE DECISION!
In my 35+ years of experience, I have seen the tax world evolve quite a bit. It used to be that tax or trade lawyers were engaged very early on in most disputes. Usually at the time of audit. Overtime, we have seen clients try different approaches, from beginning to use non-lawyer accountants or customs brokers for dispute resolution, to (most recently) relying on AI to fight the dispute for them.
Four Reasons to Retain Experienced Counsel Early
ITC ENTITLEMENT ON FINANCIAL SERVICES
THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM FOR NORTHBRIDGE?
Every so often, decisions from the Tax Court of Canada (the “TCC”) and the Federal Court of Appeal (the “FCA”) highlight the intricacies of the GST/HST regime – particularly for financial institutions. The recent decision in Northbridge Commercial Insurance Corporation v. The King (2025 FCA 83) is a prime example. The FCA has now referred the case back to the TCC for a third hearing, highlighting the complexity of input tax credit (“ITC”) entitlements related to insurance supplies.
CLOUD SERVICES & PROVINCIAL SALES TAX
A CLEARER FORECAST IN MANITOBA & WESTERN CANADA
It only got a single line in Manitoba’s 2025 budget - unlike housing measures that came with charts and headlines - but the new provincial sales tax on cloud services could bring just as much fiscal weight. As part of its 2025 budget, Manitoba announced it will apply its 7% Provincial Sales Tax (“PST”) to Software as a Service (“SaaS”), Platform as a Service (“PaaS”), and Infrastructure as a Service (“IaaS”), starting January 1, 2026.
Manitoba is the latest to adopt this trend, following BC (which we wrote about here) and Saskatchewan*. The message across Western Canada is clear: cloud services are in the “net tax”!
PRESIDENT TRUMP RELIEVES AUTO TARIFFS
NAVIGATING THROUGH TARIFF TROUBLE
On April 29th 2025, President Trump suspended the operation of automotive tariffs and provided other relief in the form of an import adjustment offset (see Proclamation here). Those original automotive tariffs were announced on March 26 2025 (see Proclamation here). In that original proclamation, the President imposed a 25% tariff on automobiles set to begin on April 3rd. He further announced a 25% tariff on automobile parts to begin no later than May 3rd. These automotive tariffs included articles made of steel and/or aluminum. The President then issued a further proclamation which modified the March 26 2025 tariffs.
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