Originally Posted by Judy in Calgary

Hi Tracie,

I'm not offended by your question but, as others have said, you have to have proof of export when you claim a rebate of the GST on durable goods that you've purchased in Canada.

On the previous occasion(s) on which you claimed a GST refund, you most likely went to a kiosk at the airport and had your receipts stamped. You also would have had to have your suitcases with you so that the customs officer could have inspected the relevant goods if he/she had wanted to do so. You then would have submitted those stamped receipts along with the GST refund claim form.

Then, as others also have pointed out, the Canadian tax authorities would have sent a cheque to your UK address, and the cheque would have been denominated in British pounds.

Something that you may not have been aware of on your previous visit(s) was the fact that the GST refund claim forms that are available in racks of tourist brochures are published by private companies and not be the Canadian government. The address on the claim form is that of the private company. The claim goes to the private company that submits the claim to the government on your behalf. The company then skims off a commission before forwarding the balance of the refund to you.

The GST claim refund form that one can print off the Internet does go directly to the Canadian government. The government does not charge any kind of fee or commission for processing the claim.

But, as others also have pointed out, the GST rebate scheme will come to an end on April 1, 2006, so there probably is no point in trying to alert travellers to what I consider to be a scam on the part of private companies that process GST refund claims.

Just for the record, hotel receipts do not have to be stamped by Canadian customs officials in order to accompany a GST refund claim. The accommodation portion of your hotel bill, before GST, has to be a minimum of $200 before you can claim. But, even if you did stay in a hotel on your initial arrival and even if you still have the receipt, you would need to quote an overseas address on the claim form. In addition to that, you may not claim a GST refund if you are a resident of Canada for tax purposes. Actions that make you a resident of Canada for tax purposes include the purchase of furniture, a car, and/or a house. Since you now have performed some of those actions, you are a resident of Canada for tax purposes, and no longer are eligible for a GST rebate. You probably could get away with it if you were able to provide a foreign address, say a relative's address in the UK. But, considering that you would get back about $5 for each night you'd spent in a Canadian hotel, it probably is not worth the trouble and the risk of doing something illegal.

Hope that answers your questions.

Originally Posted by Dying to leave England

So I take it that you won't expect the police, fire service etc to come to your aid if you require them ?



Such lovely language - I hope you do not intend to live in the same part of Calgary as I will soon - I am leaving the UK to get away from pointless unnecessary language like this in everday usage (yes I know Canadians swear as well)

I think the fact that you upset so many people that are not easily upset shows how "unbelievable" your original post was.

I'm not in the habit of point scoring or bad mouthing so I will leave things there

I hope Canada is everything you want it to be

Originally Posted by poppy1

You know what sometimes I can't believe the pettiness of some people-unbelievable.My mother always taught me 'if you can't say something nice then say nothing atall'.I have read some really stupid/pointless posts on here but wouldn't dream of taking the trouble and more importantly my time to reply to them.


It was a simple question,and actually I did wonder at the time of posting if I was going to recieve comments such as yours,but I thought to myself 'no it's a simple question and the people on this forum are generally helpful' so i'll ask.

FYI,we're here as visitors,are entitled to nothing ,and have taken nothing.So actually all we've done is contributed tax into the pot.

At the risk of upsetting my mother,get your head out of your a**e and go f**k yourself!

Originally Posted by Steve_P

Perhaps instead of asking the question here you could have used any number of search engines, Google being the most popular.

Originally Posted by poppy1

Hi guys,not sure wether this may be pushing our luck a bit but if anyone knows the answer or has any info it would be helpful.

We've been in Calgary for 3 weeks now but only on an a visitors visa(passports stamped until May 07),following a call to HRSDC today they said that OH's LMO should be sorted within next couple of days after Christmas.So then we're gonna drive across the border and back to get work permit issued there.We've bought a house and consequently bits of furniture ie sofa,beds,refrigerator,washer,dryer also smaller essentials like bedding,small electricals etc.Have racked up a few thousand dollars worth already.

So,my question is, when we leave the country even though it will only be for a few hours(or mins even)would we be able to fill in a tax rebate form to claim the GST back on our purchases? We've always done so when we came over on hols but that was always for touristy stuff.Will they ask questions or is it worth a punt anyway?

Tracie

Originally Posted by R I C H

Perhaps Poppy could have chosen to do this, but the whole point of web forums is to engage with soemone who might have experience, anecdotal evidence, opinion, or advice that might not be clearly found via Google.

My experience of a whole variety of emigration issues differs completely from some other members on this forum - using Google wouldn't necessarily highlight the differences at all.

Perhaps Poppy's question was naive, perhaps she genuinely didn't know? Perhaps she's just wanting to understand how rules and regulations are interpreted? I use an accountant that's 'aggressive' in terms of GST/PST/income tax recovery - some people might be uncomfortable with this, whereas it's what I'm happy to do. Everyone's experiences are different - how often is there a single correct answer to many of the questions posed here?

Some tolerance would be nice to see, rather than aggressive posturing, or dissmisive regard for other folks lack of knowledge or experience.

Originally Posted by stepnek

You won't find a lot of tolerance from some people here but then that's the nature of a public forum. So is hypocrisy because who knows what those that preach loudest get up to in their real lives? With a few notable exceptions a lot of what I read here I take with a pinch of salt.

Originally Posted by dave_lol66

This is the attitude that I am leaving the UK to avoid.

Originally Posted by R I C H

Perhaps Poppy could have chosen to do this, but the whole point of web forums is to engage with soemone who might have experience, anecdotal evidence, opinion, or advice that might not be clearly found via Google.

My experience of a whole variety of emigration issues differs completely from some other members on this forum - using Google wouldn't necessarily highlight the differences at all.

Perhaps Poppy's question was naive, perhaps she genuinely didn't know? Perhaps she's just wanting to understand how rules and regulations are interpreted? I use an accountant that's 'aggressive' in terms of GST/PST/income tax recovery - some people might be uncomfortable with this, whereas it's what I'm happy to do. Everyone's experiences are different - how often is there a single correct answer to many of the questions posed here?

Some tolerance would be nice to see, rather than aggressive posturing, or dissmisive regard for other folks lack of knowledge or experience.

Originally Posted by Poppy1

We've always done so when we came over on hols but that was always for touristy stuff.

Originally Posted by Poppy1

Will they ask questions or is it worth a punt anyway?

Originally Posted by poppy1

I didn't realise I had to 'vet' my questions so to speak, before posting and risk upsetting people.It does just feel on here,especially to newbies such as myself that a lot of the senior members(not all,before I offend someone else)are lying in wait,biding their time waiting to bite someones head off for what is deemed by them to be a pointless/ill informed/repetitive question.

I'm a nice person who manages to hold their tongue for the most part.I wouldn't have minded constructive criticism or a simple 'no thats not allowed' but it's the personal comments that p**s me off.

I genuinely don't know how people manage to make it to the ranks of senior member without being upset,or realising just how very.very clicky this site is.I for one cannot be bothered walking on eggshells for complete strangers.