Current Issues

Short-Term Rentals

-Certain licensees in resort towns, such as Whistler, encourage their clients purchasing new condos or those exclusively used for short-term rentals to “defer the GST”. This involves registering for GST and “self-assessing”, thus indicating an intention to use the condo mainly for commercial activities, but then using it mainly for personal purposes.

- Here, the buyer would not actually be entitled to the input tax credit.

-A related issue concerns condo-owners who use their property mainly for short-term rentals, but then wind up in disputes with the CRA concerning how the percentage of use in commercial activities ought to be determined

Assignment Fees

-A person who assigns an agreement to purchase a newly constructed home might constitute a builder of the home and therefore GST might apply to the assignment fee

-If the assignor acted in the course of a business or an adventure or concern in the nature of trade, the assignment is generally subject to GST

Residential Care Facilities

-Recent legislative changes effectively ensure that most residential care facilities will be treated as if they are apartment buildings.

-Among other things, this means that if a developer builds a residential care facility and a first tenant moves in, this will generally trip the “self-supply” rule.

Leases

-Another issue occurs when a lease may not be considered a lease.

-For instance, if a developer grants a 99-year lease in a newly constructed home, is this considered a “sale” for GST purposes? T

First Nations Land

developments on reserve or treaty land raise a series of important and complex GST issues.