4 July 1997 GST/HST Interpretation HQR0000512 - Aircraft Parking

                                                                        10th Floor, Place Vanier, Tower C
25 McArthur Road
Ottawa, Ont.
K1A 0L5

Dear XXXXX

This is in response to a facsimile from XXXXX of your unit to Mr. Don Dawson, dated January 17, 1997. XXXXX included a copy of a letter from XXXXX

ISSUE

 XXXXX a GST-registered non-profit organization that operates an airport, had asked that we verify their application of the GST to various services they provide. XXXXX raised the issue of whether the Commission's long-term (generally 4 and 5 year periods) lease of space for aircraft parking was a supply of a parking space by way of lease, licence or similar arrangement as described in paragraph 25(h) of Part VI of Schedule V to the Excise Tax Act (ETA). XXXXX is currently treating these leases as exempt from GST.

If the lease of a space in a building or on a tarmac for use in storing an aircraft is considered a supply of a parking space, the exemption in section 25 of Part VI of Schedule V to the ETA cannot apply. Such a supply by a public service body (other than a financial institution or a government) would be taxable, even when the supply is made by way of lease for a period in excess of one month.

DEPARTMENT'S POSITION

It is the Department's position that the supply of a space for use in storing aircraft is not a supply of a parking space. Therefore, in absence of an election pursuant to section 211 of the ETA, a non-profit organization's supply by way of lease of space for aircraft parking will be exempt where continuous possession or use of the space for one month or more is provided under the lease. The exemption is pursuant to section 25 of Part [V]I of Schedule V to the ETA.

Analysis

The term 'parking space' is not defined in the ETA. Therefore, it should be given its ordinary meaning, within the context of its use in the statute.

DEFINITIONS

Although the verb 'park' is non-specific and could be used to describe the action of leaving any type of conveyance temporarily in a stationary state, the ordinary meaning of parking space is a space in which to park a road-based motor vehicle.

Black's Law Dictionary defines the verb 'park' as, "Term "park" as used in statutes or ordinances regulating parking, does not comprehend or include merely temporary or momentary stoppage but rather connotes a stoppage with intent of permitting vehicle to remain standing for an appreciable length of time." The same dictionary defines 'vehicle' as, "That in or on which persons, goods, etc. may be carried from one place to another, especially along the ground. ... Term refers to every device in, upon or by which a person or property is or may be transported upon a highway."

The Retail Sales Act of Ontario defines 'commercial parking space' XXXXX subsection 1(1): "means a space, including a space on a street or highway, used for the parking of motor vehicles for which a price is paid or a charge made". xx The British Columbia Social Service Tax Act defines 'parking site' as "any location within a prescribed geographic area in the Province, at which a motor vehicle may, for a price or other consideration, be parked for a period of time of any length." 'Motor vehicle' is defined by reference to the British Columbia Motor Vehicle Act.

CONTEXT

Part VI of Schedule V to the ETA provides no clear contextual background for the use of 'parking space' in paragraph 25(h). However, 'parking space' also appears in sections 8 and 8.1 of Part I of Schedule V to the ETA. These sections exempt the supply of a parking space made in conjunction with an exempt supply of a residential unit. In the context of the Part I exemptions, the term parking space clearly is not meant to include a space for an aircraft.

The only other place that the term is used in connection with the ETA is in the Disclosure of Goods and Services Tax Regulations: "(3) In the case of a supply of a parking space for which the consideration is paid by depositing coins in a parking meter, the prescribed manner is either the manner set out in subsection (1) or giving public notice that the price for the supply includes the tax." In the context of this statement, parking space again appears to refer to a space for parking road-based motor vehicles.

Should you have any further questions or require clarification on the above, please do not hesitate to contact me at (613) 954-8852.

Yours truly,

Heather MacLeod
A/Rulings Officer
Financial Institutions and Real Property
GST/HST Rulings and Interpretations