Kennesaw, October 15, 2014 ― VJI Business Development Coordinator Courtney O’Connor attended the Institute for Professionals in Taxation luncheon held at Maggiano’s Restaurant in Smyrna on October 14. The luncheon featured guest speakers who discussed current issues in Canadian sales tax.

“The presentations went into detail about Goods and Service Tax (GST), Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), Quebec Sales Tax (QST), and outlined the new restrictions and limitations on certain tax refunds,” says O’Connor. Recent audit trends with Canadian sales tax were also discussed. The number of GST/HST desk audits appears to be on the rise, and could possibly be used by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to evaluate a taxpayer’s suitability for a full audit.

“Some of the common issues being identified in GST/HST audits,” says O’Connor, “include failure to collect tax on taxable supplies, ITC allocation methodologies, place of supply issues with the incorrect rate on the transaction, and so on. The denial of input tax refunds (ITRs) is becoming a big frustration with Canada taxpayers.” According to the presenters, minor issues such as slightly misspelled recipient names or operating names along with inadequate descriptions for supplies are resulting in a high denial rate. Due to numerous taxpayer complaints, Revenue Quebec formed a group to review these issues and make recommendations on how to improve the situation.

O’Connor notes, “The luncheon presentations offered a great lesson on how important it is for companies to provide accurate and detailed documentation when dealing with taxing authorities. Using an experienced consultant who is familiar with all of these sometimes intricate requirements will help them resolve their tax issues quickly.”