Quebec To Harmonize Sales Tax With GST

Quebec Finance Minister Monique Jerome-Forget thought Quebec sales tax was already harmonized with the federal GST, when she wrote her federal counterpart Jim Flaherty seeking $2.6 billion. Photograph by: Jacques Boissinot, Reuters

From The Montreal Gazette:

QUEBEC – Quebec is willing to harmonize its sales tax with the federal GST, if that’s what it takes to get a $2.6-billion windfall from Ottawa, Finance Minister Monique Jérôme-Forget says.

The tax harmonization, as proposed yesterday by Jérôme-Forget, would have no impact on Quebec consumers. They would still pay 7.5 per cent in provincial sales tax on top of the price of goods and five per cent in goods and services tax. Because the PST is calculated once the GST has been added in, the total sales- tax bite is – and would remain – 13 per cent.

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