TEI comments on possible changes to GST/HST joint venture election.

PositionTax Executives Institute, goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax - Canada

On July 18, 2014, TEI submitted a letter to the Canadian Revenue Agency and Canadian Department of Finance expressing appreciation for proposed changes to the GST/HST joint venture election. The new rules will expand the availability of the election to all joint ventures engaged in commercial activities where all participants of the joint venture are also engaged exclusively in commercial activities. The Institute's letter cautioned CRA and the Department of Finance against requiring all electing joint ventures to file a prescribed form with the government arguing the administrative burden would outweigh any compliance benefits. The letter was prepared under the aegis of TFI's Canadian Commodity Tax Committee, whose chair is Robert J. Smith of McKesson Canada. Contributing substantially to the development of TEI's comments were Dwaine Arnason of Shell Canada Ltd., Carole S. Levesque of PennWest, and Kevin Thom of ConocoPhillips Canada. Daniel B. De Jong of the Institute's legal staff coordinated the development of the Institute's comments.

In the February 11, 2014, Federal Budget, the Government of Canada (the "Government") announced welcome changes to the joint venture election in section 273 of the Excise Tax Act ("ETA"). Tax Executives Institute ("TEI") commends both the Department of Finance ("Finance") and the Canada Revenue Agency ("CRA") for their extensive efforts in developing and crafting this expansion of the joint venture election that will allow most businesses to access the GST/HST simplification benefits of the election. We also look forward to participating in the consultation process once the Government releases its specific legislative drafts for review and comment later this year.

TEI is the preeminent international association of in-house tax professionals worldwide. The Institute's nearly 7,000 professionals manage the tax affairs of more than 3,000 of the leading companies across all industry sectors in North America, Europe, and Asia. Canadians constitute approximately fifteen-percent of TEI's membership, with our Canadian members belonging to chapters in Calgary, Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto (which is TEI's largest chapter). TEI members must contend daily with the planning and compliance aspects of Canada's business tax laws.

The joint venture election in section 273 of the ETA permits one participant in a joint venture to be responsible for the GST/HST obligations of the entire joint venture. This election...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT