Clause 43 adds new section 157 to the Excise Tax Act to simplify compliance in respect of transactions between an employer and a pension plan trust in the case where an employer performs activities in relation to a registered pension plan of employees of the employer. New section 157 allows a participating employer of a registered pension plan to jointly elect with a pension plan trust to treat any actual taxable supplies by the employer to the pension plan trust as being made for no consideration, meaning that no tax applies to these actual supplies. Instead, there's a deemed supply between the employer and the pension plan trust and taxes collected and remitted just on this deemed supply.
Clause 44 also deals with the GST/HST pension plan rules, and it's also a simplifying measure. This is an amendment to address concerns with the complexity and cost of complying with the pension plan deemed taxable supply rules. In particular, employers have expressed concerns that where only a small amount of tax is at stake, these rules are difficult to comply with. Clause 44 proposes a measure that allows an employer participating in a registered pension plan to be fully or partially relieved from accounting for tax under the pension plan deemed taxable supply rules if the employer's pension plan-related activities fall below certain thresholds. An employer would be relieved from applying the deemed taxable supply rules for a fiscal year of the employer where the amount of GST that the employer is required to account for and remit under the deemed taxable supply rules in the preceding fiscal year of the employer is less than both $5,000 and 10% of the total GST paid by the pension plan trust in the preceding fiscal year.
Clause 45 deals with GST/HST business information requirements.
Carlos.