CRA provides new GST/HST Memorandum on Secondary and Elementary Schools

CRA has issued a new GST/HST Memorandum on supplies and purchases by elementary and secondary schools, mostly focusing on the various exemptions in Sched. V, Pt. III. Points include:

• A detailed description of the criteria applied by CRA to distinguish between a (usually taxable) supply of an admission to a seminar or event (viewed by it as a supply of intangible personal property) and a somewhat-frequently exempted supply of instruction (viewed by it as the supply of a service).
• CRA indicates that the supply of on-line instruction can potentially be exempted, but states that “It can, however, be difficult to determine whether a supply made online is the supply of a service (and thus possibly exempt under section 2, 7, 8, 11 or 16 of Part III of Schedule V or zero‑rated under section 18 of Part V of Schedule VI) or of intangible personal property as this determination is based on a number of factors, as well as the specific facts of the particular case.”
• CRA indicates that in various circumstances, kindergarten programming will not be exempted.
• CRA attempts to provide guidance on the slippery concept of what is a “program” for purposes of the exemption in Sched. V. Pt. III, s. 16 (as well as commenting on the less intractable nature of the exclusion from this exemption for “recreational pursuits”).

Neal Armstrong. Summaries of GST/HST Memorandum 20-1 December 2019 under ETA s. 123(1) – school authority, Sched. V, Pt. III, s. 1 – elementary or secondary school student, s. 2, s. 3, s. 4, s. 5, s. 7, s. 7.1, s. 11, s. 16, Sched. VI, Pt. V, s. 18.