Saturday, October 30, 2010

Does the HST apply to resale homes? Do you know?

It seems that the Ontario government has done a terrible job of educating the public about what goods and services the HST (harmonized sales tax) applies to. This is a big problem. A recent Ipsos Reid poll on behalf of the Ontario Real Estate Association, showed 56% of those polled believing that the HST applies to resale homes. Almost 60% of those over the age of 55 and 55% of those in the 1854 age groups believe it applies to resale homes. University graduates fared little better with 51% ignorant of the new HST rules. These numbers are very disturbing to the OREA and should be as disturbing to the government. The average single-family house for sale in Ottawa sells right now for $330,000.00. That is high enough. If you believe you have to pay $40,000.00+ on top of that it might make you think twice. The fact that the Ottawa market has not stagnated in spite of this is a testament to the strength of the Ottawa housing market.

Did you know the HST does not apply to resale homes?

1 comment:

  1. Hi Christopher,

    My name is Rachael from the Ontario Ministry of Revenue.

    Our website is a great resource of information on all HST matters. You can visit our website here: www.ontario.ca/taxchange.

    We also have our "What's Taxable Under the HST and What's Not document: http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/taxchange/pdf/taxable.pdf or our mobile app:http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/hstmobile/

    If you would like to follow us on Twitter, our handle is @OntarioREV.

    And of course, you can email me at Rachael.MOR@ontario.ca for more information on the HST.

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