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YORKTON - What business must collect and submit for provincial sales tax changed significantly on Oct. 1.
And, a small group of Yorkton Chamber of Commerce members heard some of the details of the expanded range of products and services on which PST is now being collected at a noon luncheon Thursday.
“There’s lots of PST rules to know about,” offered Colin Chicoine, a provincial tax education officer, who was one of two TEOs making the presentation.
Chicoine said given the number of rules, and that they do change on occasion, they in fact prefaced the information provided was only current until Nov. 17, and could change, so business needs to stay abreast of change. If a business is unsure what they must collect PST sales on, they need to call for guidance and clarification.
To help business there are also a series of bulletins – more than 75 in total – detailing PST requirements as they pertain to specific businesses, said Chicoine, citing hair dressers, contractors and restaurants as examples. The informational bulletins are accessible online through the Tax Information & Compliance Branch and business can register to receive updates as they are released.
Chicoine said branch staff will also visit businesses for “a quick once over of the books,” and to “answer any questions people may have” in terms of PST requirements.
In general, the PST is a “consumption-based tax,” explained Chicoine, meaning most often the retailer collected the full PST from the consumer who pays the tax on goods consumed or used in Saskatchewan.
A failure to collect or submit PST can lead to a penalty of 10 per cent of more, and interest being paid on the owed amount, added Chicoine broadened in October and now includes a greater range of services, promotional items or tickets given away free of charge, event tickets and more.
Jim Hanson, also a TEO, said there are exceptions, for example team sport fees of players under 18 do not have PST applied, but the specifics really need to be requested from the department.
