When Danny Thompson left
It all started when Danny and Shelley Thompson decided to leave
Things were running smoothly until the Thompsons received a surprise letter from the provincial government. Early in 2008, Thompson was told he would have to pay provincial sales tax on all the equipment he acquired when he purchased the store.
Thompson was flabbergasted. All of the shelving, meat cutters, fridges, freezers and tills that came with the store at the time of purchase would now be taxed. Some of these items were so old, Thompson replaced them before ever using them.
The store owner claims his protests to the government were rebuffed with the comment, “Well, if you don’t like it, move back." This rude response ignored the cruel fact that even if Thompson sold the store he just bought and left the province, he would still be liable for this tax. So would the next owner of the store, and the next one, and the next one until the equipment was finally thrown out.
In reality, this pattern had already taken place. Back in 2000, the NDP government decided to apply PST to used equipment for businesses, such as those in Thompson’s store. This meant the tax had been charged at least three times—once to the first store owner who bought the equipment, then owner who purchased the store in 2000, and then Thompson.
Don Toth, Thompson’s MLA, had a sympathetic ear. He agrees the PST should be removed for the same reasons his party took it off of used cars. Apparently there are a few other allies in caucus, though the Minister of Finance declined to be one of them.
That’s when Thompson called the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. We put him in touch with the local media, and Thompson told his story to the province.
A spokesman for the Finance Ministry told Global TV that Thompson could appeal to the Board of Revenue Commissioners. Furthermore, he said the province d they might exempt some of Thompson’s equipment from PST if the items could not be easily removed from the store.
For his part, Thompson has no interest in concessions.
“It’s unfortunate that someone has to go through what I have to get this changed,” Thompson said. “Right now I’m one person, but it’s got to start somewhere.”
Thompson says that the NDP, ironically, intends to press the government to remove this application of the PST, which takes in about $13-million annually. Thompson’s one-man stand is quickly turning into a large coalition.
Hopefully Premier Wall has a change of heart and responds favourably. Otherwise, there may be a few less people coming to the province to buy businesses, and someone else paying PST on Thompson’s old equipment once again whenever he sells the store.
***Update, April 30, 2009***
A representative from Sask Finance discussed this matter with the CTF. They insist the claim that any bureaucrat said, "Well if you don't like it, move back" is unsubstantiated. They add that it is standard policy not to charge PST on used equipment that will not be used by the new owner. They also say that this application of PST is consistent with all provinces where sales taxes are not harmonized with the federal GST.
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