Hey Canadians: Thoughts on GST - GoFuckYourself.com

Sarah - GTS · 09-28-2003, 09:39 AM

Have any of you Canadian webmasters registered for GST?
I know a benefit of doing so is you can claim back any GST you pay OUT. But what about the revenue side? If most of your income is from US sources, how is the GST treated? Is it worth registering?

m0rph3us · 09-28-2003, 09:53 AM

if oyu make over 30k/year with your biz or self employed, you have to pay GST to gov and get a number. if you haven't done so you owe a shitload of backtaxes.

Sarah - GTS · 09-28-2003, 10:00 AM

Do you have to pay GST on the US based Income?

magicmike · 09-28-2003, 10:12 AM

The Gov't will want GST on any sales you make if you run your own program.

jpoker · 09-28-2003, 10:46 AM

Sarah,
we did register for GST, but we do not pay any GST
on any non canadian based revenue. However, we do pay
GST on various things we purchase locally (servers, accounting
services, legal services, design services, etc) and we get
that GST back every year when we file our GST return.

One important thing to mention is that our US revenue is
from selling other people's sites and not from our own
pay sites (yet). I've read a couple of threads on this
board regarding Canadians who run their own sites
and the issue of GST on those sites seems to be a grey one.
Seems some folks have been told by CCRA that they need
to pay GST on every membership they sell.

- jpoker

Monk · 09-28-2003, 01:23 PM

You don't have to pay GST on revenue from outside Canada.

I know a company that runs their own paysite who got audited and they were told they have to find what the average percentage of their members come from Canada vs. outside-Canada and remit GST based on that average % rate.

WiredGuy · 09-28-2003, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Monk
You don't have to pay GST on revenue from outside Canada.

This is still a gray area actually. If you run a paysite, you need to calculate what percentage of members are canadian and pay GST on those. If you don't know this percent, CCRA assumes 100%.

If you're a webmaster it's a little bit up in the air still. If you are selling traffic to US companies (sponsors), then you should be fine and not have to collect GST. What's not determined really is if you do consulting work from Canada. I'm going to court over this myself with CCRA, so I'll let you know how it goes.

WG

Sarah - GTS · 09-28-2003, 03:57 PM

Thanks very much for the input. I was wondering if anyone had been audited in this area: the revenue in question is from sending traffic to sites not owned by us, so I guess the real dilema lies with a Canadian based pay site (which thankfully doesn't apply yet). I really think registering in order to claim back the ITC's (tax credits on the GST that we payout on expenses) would be worth the while.

WiredGuy · 09-28-2003, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sarah - GSS
I was wondering if anyone had been audited in this area: the revenue in question is from sending traffic to sites not owned by us, so I guess the real dilema lies with a Canadian based pay site (which thankfully doesn't apply yet). I really think registering in order to claim back the ITC's (tax credits on the GST that we payout on expenses) would be worth the while.

it is definitely worth your while to register, I get a refund of $2-3k each year. But then again I'm being audited on this very issue and I'm just a webmaster, I don't run my own paysites. But then again my issue is mostly regarding consulting work versus signups made.

WG

Sarah - GTS · 09-28-2003, 04:15 PM

Hey WiredGuy, please keep us updated on how your audit goes. If the earnings from the US are consulting fees, and CCRA wants to get GST on that money, that may pose a problem with future stuff we are looking at getting into. THANKS!!

WiredGuy · 09-28-2003, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sarah - GSS
Hey WiredGuy, please keep us updated on how your audit goes. If the earnings from the US are consulting fees, and CCRA wants to get GST on that money, that may pose a problem with future stuff we are looking at getting into. THANKS!!

Will do... I think it's mostly bullshit if you ask me and their way of trying to capitalize on 7% of all my sales for the last 3 years, which is exactly why I'm fighting it. My lawyer seems confident on winning, but they'll say anything to increase their billable hours...

I'll let you know.
WG

09-28-2003, 09:39 AM	#1
Sarah - GTS Confirmed User Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 1,656	Hey Canadians: Thoughts on GST Have any of you Canadian webmasters registered for GST? I know a benefit of doing so is you can claim back any GST you pay OUT. But what about the revenue side? If most of your income is from US sources, how is the GST treated? Is it worth registering? __________________ Buy Mobile traffic - target by county and / or device Got Mobile Traffic? don't redirect it away! We build you your very own mobile tube site complete with videos and pay you up to 20 cents PPC! Keep your valuable surfers, build traffic and build your SEO! There is no better solution for your mobile traffic! [email protected] ICQ# 229-972-572

09-28-2003, 10:00 AM	#3
Sarah - GTS Confirmed User Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 1,656	Do you have to pay GST on the US based Income? __________________ Buy Mobile traffic - target by county and / or device Got Mobile Traffic? don't redirect it away! We build you your very own mobile tube site complete with videos and pay you up to 20 cents PPC! Keep your valuable surfers, build traffic and build your SEO! There is no better solution for your mobile traffic! [email protected] ICQ# 229-972-572

09-28-2003, 10:12 AM	#4
magicmike Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: JustPorno Posts: 2,384	The Gov't will want GST on any sales you make if you run your own program. __________________ Just Porno with both classic and mobile porn versions. Gay Porn Our mega gay site tranny porn

09-28-2003, 10:46 AM	#5
jpoker Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Vancouver Posts: 362	Sarah, we did register for GST, but we do not pay any GST on any non canadian based revenue. However, we do pay GST on various things we purchase locally (servers, accounting services, legal services, design services, etc) and we get that GST back every year when we file our GST return. One important thing to mention is that our US revenue is from selling other people's sites and not from our own pay sites (yet). I've read a couple of threads on this board regarding Canadians who run their own sites and the issue of GST on those sites seems to be a grey one. Seems some folks have been told by CCRA that they need to pay GST on every membership they sell. - jpoker __________________ http://www.bigboobdreams.com Big Juicy Healthy Boobs Last edited by jpoker; 09-28-2003 at 10:51 AM..

09-28-2003, 03:57 PM	#8
Sarah - GTS Confirmed User Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 1,656	Thanks very much for the input. I was wondering if anyone had been audited in this area: the revenue in question is from sending traffic to sites not owned by us, so I guess the real dilema lies with a Canadian based pay site (which thankfully doesn't apply yet). I really think registering in order to claim back the ITC's (tax credits on the GST that we payout on expenses) would be worth the while. __________________ Buy Mobile traffic - target by county and / or device Got Mobile Traffic? don't redirect it away! We build you your very own mobile tube site complete with videos and pay you up to 20 cents PPC! Keep your valuable surfers, build traffic and build your SEO! There is no better solution for your mobile traffic! [email protected] ICQ# 229-972-572

09-28-2003, 09:53 AM	#2
m0rph3us Confirmed User Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Principality of Sealand Posts: 2,033	if oyu make over 30k/year with your biz or self employed, you have to pay GST to gov and get a number. if you haven't done so you owe a shitload of backtaxes.

09-28-2003, 01:23 PM	#6
Monk Confirmed User Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 631	You don't have to pay GST on revenue from outside Canada. I know a company that runs their own paysite who got audited and they were told they have to find what the average percentage of their members come from Canada vs. outside-Canada and remit GST based on that average % rate.

09-28-2003, 04:15 PM	#10
Sarah - GTS Confirmed User Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 1,656	Hey WiredGuy, please keep us updated on how your audit goes. If the earnings from the US are consulting fees, and CCRA wants to get GST on that money, that may pose a problem with future stuff we are looking at getting into. THANKS!! __________________ Buy Mobile traffic - target by county and / or device Got Mobile Traffic? don't redirect it away! We build you your very own mobile tube site complete with videos and pay you up to 20 cents PPC! Keep your valuable surfers, build traffic and build your SEO! There is no better solution for your mobile traffic! [email protected] ICQ# 229-972-572