CRA sets out its positions on public colleges

CRA has published a new GST/HST Memorandum on Public Colleges. Quite a number of the points are similar to those made in the new Memoranda on Universities (20-3) and on School Authorities - Elementary and Secondary Schools (20-1), and are not repeated here.

Respecting the ETA definition of a “public college,” CRA indicates that:

• accepting mature students who do not have a high school diploma is consistent with being a “post-secondary” college or technical institute
• the requirement to cater to the “general public” is interpreted to refer to “a significant segment of the general public,” and “as long as a post-secondary college or post-secondary technical institute offers a variety of courses to the general public, it may be acceptable for a portion of the courses or programs offered to be limited to a narrow segment of the public.”
• furthermore, “funding to support job training activities is generally used by an organization to provide specific educational services over a limited time period and therefore does not relate to the ongoing provision of educational services to the general public.”

Neal Armstrong. Summaries of GST/HST Memorandum 20-2 “Public Colleges” December 2019 under ETA s. 123(1) - public college, Sched. V, Pt. III, s. 6, s. 7, s. 16.