This week (February 18, 2020) the British Colombia government announced planned changes that should be effective since July 1, 2020 to the PST (Provincial sales tax) laws. Government proposed changes to PST registration and collection requirements that will be applicable not only for Canadian but also to foreign businesses, providing software and telecommunication services in the province as well. If the revenues of before mentioned type of business exceeds annual sales threshold of CAD $10,000, the registration for PST will be mandatory.
The changes proposed by British Colombia government are similar to the requirements introduced in Quebec and Saskatchewan and a Canadian government review panel‘s recommendation to apply GST/HST to digitally supplied services provided by foreign businesses.
What are the requirements implemented in Québec and Saskatchewan for digital service providers?
Quebec
From January 1, 2019 non-resident digital service suppliers are obliged to register for, collect and remit QST (Quebec sales tax) if annual sales exceeds CAD $30,000. Quebec PST is currently 9,975%.
Digital services include:
- E-books;
- Images;
- Movies, videos;
- SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, etc
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan imposed PST (Provincial Sales Tax) on digital services in January 1 2019. Saskatchewan PST is currently 6%.
Digital services include:
- streaming or downloading media;
- e-learning apps;
- e-books and periodicals;
- online gaming;
- dating websites;
- SaaS services;
- membership to online associations, etc.
Please contact us if you have any questions.
