You and Me and the HST in BC

The British Columbia HST Tax has been out for quite some time now, and not much has changed with regard to Recreational Vehicle Sales. Before we had the Harmonized Sales Tax we had a 7% Provincial Tax and a 5% Federal Tax, 12% same today. Pre-HST when you traded a vehicle in on your purchase you paid both taxes on the difference, same deal now. I don’t think people pay enough attention to trade in tax savings. If you purchase a $50,000.00 unit and you get $35,000.00 for your trade, you will only have to pay tax on the $15,000.00 difference. That means a tax savings of $4,200.00 on the trade value, unless you pay cash and sell your trade separately. The only real change with regard to tax collection on vehicle sales in British Columbia is Private Sales. Before the HST Private Sales only had to pay the 7% Provincial Sales Tax. This Tax has now been raised to 12% and as always is collected by ICBC.