TAX NEWS - 2010

Vancouver Tax: HST starting to show up on bills

Although the new tax doesn't kick in until July 1, many services are billed in advance. The result, Telus says, is taxation 'straddling'

Ready or not, here it comes.

The new harmonized sales tax is making its first appearance on many bills arriving this week.

And, no, it's not a mistake.

The HST kicks in July 1, and since many everyday services are billed in advance, the HST is now being included.

For instance, bills to Shaw and Telus customers this month will have three lines of tax -- the Goods and Services Tax, the Provincial Sales Tax, as well as the HST.

And while it looks like more tax (and probably is), it's not double taxation. The companies are billing the GST and PST for services up to June 30, and the HST after that.

It's called "straddling," according to Telus spokesman Shawn Hall.

"Very, very few people's billing cycles coincide exactly with the implementation of the HST on July 1," Hall said.

So if your billing cycle runs from June 15 to July 15, all three taxes will appear.

"Part of your billing period is pre-HST, and part of your billing period is post-HST implementation. So you see all of those taxes on your bill, but in partial amounts," he said.

And for most people, the overall tax will be higher post-HST because the tax now applies to basic phone service and basic cable service, which have previously been PST exempt.

The basic home phone service with Telus costs $20.95, so the added tax will be about $1.50 a month, Hall said. Voice mail, long distance and Internet were all already subject to PST, so the tax on those items will stay the same.