The final legislation and regulations to re-implement the Provincial Sales Tax on April 1, 2013, are now complete, giving businesses all the information they need for a successful transition, Finance Minister Michael de Jong announced today.

The final legislative amendments to the Provincial Sales Tax Act have received royal assent and the regulations to bring it into force on April 1, 2013, have been approved by cabinet.

To help businesses prepare, government is also making available unofficial consolidated versions of the Provincial Sales Tax Act, Motor Fuel Tax Act and the New Housing Transition Tax and Rebate Act reflecting the amendments made in Bill 2.

Government is running an extensive business outreach program to have businesses register for PST and to help them understand their obligations. Businesses that sell or lease taxable goods, or sell software or taxable services in B.C. must register to obtain a new PST number, even if they already had one under the previous PST. It's estimated that more than 70,000 businesses still need to register for the PST to ensure they are ready to collect the PST on April 1, 2013.

Businesses can register three ways:

• Online - go to: www.gov.bc.ca/etaxbc/register

• In person - go to the nearest Service BC Centre. See locations at: www.servicebc.gov.bc.ca/ - or visit our office at 1802 Douglas St. in Victoria.

• By mail or fax - complete the Application for Registration for Provincial Sales Tax (FIN 418) found at: www.gov.bc.ca/pst (Go to Forms and Publications.)

Additional tools and services available to help businesses prepare for the re-implementation of the PST include:

• One-on-one consultations with a government tax specialist.

• Online webinars and in-person seminars covering the general principles of the PST and eTaxBC.

• PST bulletins and notices.

• Videos:

• Returning to the PST - An Overview for Business

• PST in B.C. Online Registration

• Businesses with questions about the PST can call our toll-free help line - 1 877 388-4440 or email questions to: CTBTaxQuestions@gov.bc.ca

Quotes:

Minister of Finance Michael de Jong -

"With just four weeks until reimplementation of the PST, businesses need to act to ensure they are registered and ready to collect the tax on April 1, 2013. Businesses can take advantage of the full suite of tools available to help with their preparations, including the legislation, the regulations, plain-language notices and bulletins, one-on-one consultations, videos, seminars and webinars."

"As we committed in August 2011, we are returning to the PST with all permanent exemptions. Consumers will again not pay PST on purchases like food, restaurant meals, bicycles, gym memberships, movie tickets, and others, nor for personal services like haircuts. We've also introduced common-sense improvements that will make administration of the sales tax easier for businesses."

Quick Facts - PST Business Outreach:

• Two mass mailings to businesses (Sept. and Dec. 2012)

• Direct phone calls about registration - 60,000 businesses contacted so far.

• 26 news releases and information bulletins issued to raise awareness of seminars, webinars, bulletins and notices.

• 26 webinars held so far attended by 1,117 people, and two per week are scheduled until the end of March.

• So far 1,584 requests for one-on-one consultations with a ministry tax specialist have been received and 1,194 consultations have been completed.

• To date, 66 seminars with chambers of commerce and business associations and other presentations have been held and 42 are currently scheduled before the end of March.

• More than 20 publications that provide plain-language guidance on the application of PST and related exemptions have been released, to date.

• More than 30,000 questions from businesses have already been answered by phone and email.

• More than 32,000 businesses have applied for registration so far.

Learn More:

The following documents are now available at www.gov.bc.ca/pst:

• An unofficial consolidation of the Provincial Sales Tax Act prepared on Feb. 28, 2013.

• PST regulations approved and ordered effective Feb. 28, 2013.

• An unofficial consolidation of the Motor Fuel Tax Act prepared on Feb. 28, 2013.

• An unofficial consolidation of the New Housing Transition tax and Rebate Act prepared on Feb. 28, 2013.

• More information on the return to PST and links to publications, tools and services can be found at: www.gov.bc.ca/pst

• Subscribe to email updates at the What's New page at: www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/msbr/whats_new/consumer_taxes/whatsnew.htm

• Consumers and businesses can find a guide to what's taxable and what's not, including exemptions, at: www.pstinbc.ca/media/2013_GST_PST_List_WEB.pdf

Media Contact:

Jamie Edwardson
Communications Director
Ministry of Finance
250 356-2821