On December 2nd, 2009, a Tax Notice was issued by the Ministry of Finance to all 'Parking Sellers' in the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Service Region. The notice included the following instructions:

Effective January 1, 2010, the provincial sales tax (PST) rate on the purchase price of parking rights will increase from 7% to 21%. This applies to the South Coast British Columbia transportation region. If you sell taxable parking in this region, you must charge PST on the purchase price of the parking at the rate of 21% beginning January 1, 2010.

The PST rate for taxable parking in the South Coast British Columbia transportation service region is set by the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority (Translink). The notice instructs Metro Parking, who is required to collect the tax on behalf of Translink, to triple the amount of PST collected on parking.

The increase also triggers GST being payable on both the parking charge and the PST collected; the total tax (GST and PST) payable on parking will therefore increase to 27.05% after January 1st, 2010.

Official Documentation on this issue:

For a full copy of the Tax Notice click here.

For a bulletin issued by the Ministry of Finance regarding the Social Services Tax Act and parking please click here.

Media Stories on this issue:

VANCOUVER SUN - December 16, 2009
Parking fees even higher, thanks to HST

VANCOUVER SUN - December 15, 2009
Re-labelled parking tax leaves 21% rate in place, then adds HST

BCLocalNews.com - December 14, 2009
Huge Tax Hike on Pay Parking Possible

VANCOUVER SUN - December 14, 2009
Don't expect parking tax relief when HST kicks in

VANCOUVER SUN - December 8, 2009
Parking a tax gambit for bigger stakes