Province confirms tax measure implementation dates, deferral deadlines for businesses

Businesses have been given a reprieve as the provincial government announced last week that it is delaying implementation or increases to several taxes.
 
Quarterly installments for the Employer Health Tax have been pushed back as follows:

• Dec. 31, 2020 (original installment date was June 15, 2020)
• Jan. 31, 2021 (original installment date was Sept. 15, 2020)
• Feb. 28, 2021 (original installment date was Dec. 15, 2020)

 
As well, the scheduled elimination of a Provincial Sales Tax exemption for sweetened carbonated beverages, and the requirement for e-commerce businesses outside BC to collect PST have been delayed until next April. And annual increases to the provincial carbon tax, postponed back in April, also won’t begin until next year.
 
The Ministry of Finance is also reminding businesses that the due dates for the following sales taxes, extended in the spring, are coming up Sept. 30:

• PST
• hotel tax, also known as municipal and regional district tax
• tobacco tax
• motor fuel tax
• carbon tax

 
“These administrative deferrals are not being extended further,” says a statement from the ministry. “Businesses were never able to spend taxes collected from customers such as PST, but delaying tax remittances removed an administrative burden from potentially short-staffed businesses during the beginning of the pandemic.”