Hi Gerald

Thanks for making the explanation more precise.

Simon

>The way the tax is aplied depend on the place you "consume" the goods.
>It is not a "resident" tax.
>
>If an visitor came to Canada and buy a hot-dog, a t-shirt or concert ticket, he have to pay the taxes because the goods are "consumed" here in the country.
>
>On the other side, if the same person command a t-shirt or a software online in a canadian site and the goods are shipped (or downloaded)outside of the country, there is no taxes - the goods are not "consumed" in Canada.
>
>For a service, there is no physical goods that was shipped outside of the country. So the gov assume that the service was provided "in" the country of the server - in Canada - and the taxes must be charged.
>
>If UT was a software, Michel may not have to charge taxes, but it's a service and he don't have the choice. May be he can release a "UT browser" and sell the software instead of membership to trick the law and avoid the taxes...
>
>
>
>>Hi
>>
>>The HST would be the Provincial Sales tax plus the Goods and Services tax combined into a simpler Harmonized Sales Tax. This is supposed to simplfy tax calculations so that you do not have to follow two sets of rules and lower the effective amount of tax paid. It exists in some of the Canadian provinces while others still use the two above mentioned taxes. However, my understanding is that it only applies to Canadian Residents.
>>
>>Simon
>>
>>
>>>Total: 170.00$ HST: 25.50$ Grand total: 195.50$
>>>
>>>What is this HST charge?
>>>
>>>I was about to renew my membership for 18 months but this stopped me.
>>>
>>>Peter