Reporting of tax account activity in Quebec.

• Position: Tax Executives Institute Toronto Chapter

On June 7, 1996, Tax Executives Institute submitted the following comments to Georges Homsy, Director of the Quebec Ministry of Revenue in Toronto, concerning the reporting of tax account activity for provincial tax purposes. The comments were prepared under the aegis of the Institute's Toronto Chapter and, after being ratified by the Montreal Chapter and approved by TEI's Executive Committee, were signed by Toronto Chapter President Ann Zegarchak. Pierre M. Bocti of Hewlett-Packard Canada, chair of the Institute's Canadian Commodity Tax Committee; Vincent Alicandri of Xerox Canada Limited, TEI's Vice President for Canadian Affairs; and Robert G. Westlake of General Electric Canada Inc., materially contributed to the development of the Institute's submission.

During a recent meeting of the Toronto Chapter of Tax Executives Institute, Inc., several questions were posed relating to the administration of the Quebec Sales Tax (QST). In the course of the discussion, you invited the Institute to submit a letter describing its concerns and proposing a solution. We are pleased to respond to that invitation.

Background

Tax Executives Institute, Inc. is an international organization of approximately 5,000 professionals who are responsible -- in an executive, administrative, or managerial capacity -- for the tax affairs of the corporations and other businesses by which they are employed. TEI's members represent more than 2,700 of the leading corporations in Canada and the United States.

Canadians constitute approximately 10 percent of TEI's membership, with our Canadian members belonging to chapters in Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, which together make up one of our nine geographic regions. In addition, a substantial number of our U.S. members work for companies with significant Canadian operations. In sum, TEI's membership includes representatives from most major industries, including manufacturing, distributing, wholesaling, and retailing; real estate; transportation; financial; natural resources (including timber and integrated oil companies); and telecommunications. The comments set forth in this submission reflect the views of the Institute as a whole (and have been approved by the Institute's Executive Committee), but more particularly those of our Canadian constituency.

Description of the Issue

Business taxpayers in Quebec are responsible for a plethora of taxes including Quebec Sales Tax (QST); corporate capital, property, or...