Tax exemption will continue under HST

Point of sale savings to resume Sept. 1
After two months of collecting tax receipts for reimbursement, point of sale tax exemption will resume for Ontario’s First Nations.
The federal and provincial governments came to an agreement with First Nation leaders about continuing the point of sale tax exemption for First Nation Peoples under Ontario’s new HST, which will go into effect July 1.
This agreement was confirmed June 17 when Ontario Regional Chief Angus Toulouse received letters from the Federal Finance Minister and Ontario Ministers Bentley and Wilkinson confirming an intergovernmental agreement for the continuation of the point of sale tax exemption for First Nations.
“I am thrilled and our people will be relieved that the point of sale exemption for First Nations will be continued with the HST framework,” said Toulouse. “First Nations have worked tirelessly with Ontario and the federal government to make this a reality. The ability to achieve this reflects the great potential of the government-to-government relationship between Ontario and First Nations.”
Saving receipts shouldn’t be a huge inconvenience, said Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Stan Beardy.
“Some people may have problems tracking their receipts … but the bottom line is come Sept. 1, the historical practice of point of sale tax exemption will continue,” Beardy said. “NAN communities can breathe a sigh of relief in knowing they will not have to fork up even more money to cover the cost of essential goods and services. We are pleased that the historical practice of First Nations point-of-sale tax exemption will be maintained.”
For the past 30 years point of sale tax exemption has been in place in Ontario under the Retail Sales Tax (RST). This system will now continue under the HST for both on and off-reserve purchases.
“We have stood shoulder to shoulder with our First Nations partners for many months now to ensure the continuation of the point of sale exemption,” Chris Bentley, minister of Aboriginal affairs said.
“I am pleased that we have now reached our shared goal together.”
Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee praised citizens of the 40 Anishinabek communities for their resistance to government efforts to impose the new 13 per cent HST against them.
“It was our demonstration of solidarity and plans for more peaceful direct action that convinced Canada they should not cross the line we drew in the sand,” Madahbee said.
The Ontario government has released three points about the HST point of sale exemption:
First Nations citizens will be exempt at the point of sale from off-reserve purchases, upon showing their status card from Sept. 1 onward. The two-month delay is to enable retailers and governments to make the necessary changes to their systems to accommodate the exemption.
Ontario and the federal government will be releasing in the coming days a technical backgrounder/bulletin describing the scope and procedures for the First Nation point of sale exemption.
For the months of July and August, First Nation citizens will be reimbursed the provincial portion of the HST upon the submission of receipts. Ontario will be releasing a memo/bulletin outlining the procedures for the refund.