Sure.
Evidence of meeting #183 for Finance in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was back.
A video is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #183 for Finance in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was back.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
I think it has been transferred to the environmental committee. We'll let them deal with it. When it comes back to us, we may have to deal with it.
Conservative
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
We can get an answer to this question. Then we'll leave the rest to the environmental committee.
Director General, GST Legislation, Sales Tax Division, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance
The tax on the sale of a carbon emission allowance is not changed by this measure. The measure only changes who is responsible for accounting for the tax. It used to be the vendor who collected the tax from the purchaser to remit to the CRA. Now it will be the purchaser who will be responsible for self-assessing the tax and remitting it to the CRA if there's a need for that.
I want to add here, to clarify, that the purchasers of those carbon emission allowances are usually businesses involved in commercial activity, and they would be entitled to recover the tax through the input tax credit mechanism.
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON
Is it normal for a purchaser to remit a sales tax? Usually it's the seller who does that.
Director General, GST Legislation, Sales Tax Division, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance
Yes, usually it's the seller, but there are situations in cases of certain sales of real property where it's the purchaser who has to self-assess.
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON
This change affects the application of HST to provincial carbon credit programs, correct?
Director General, GST Legislation, Sales Tax Division, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance
It changes which person has to remit the tax—
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON
I understand that. Is it for provincial cap and trade programs?
Director General, GST Legislation, Sales Tax Division, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance
It's for every system of emission allowance that is basically created by a government entity. Yes, it would apply to the sale currently applied on, let's say, the cap and trade system in Quebec.
Conservative
Director General, GST Legislation, Sales Tax Division, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance
The federal system—I may be wrong, but I think the issuance of those allowances will only occur in 2020, or something like that. At that time, yes, it would apply.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
Pierre, we are going to leave the rest to the environmental committee.
Mr. McLeod.
November 1st, 2018 / 10:45 a.m.
Liberal
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON
Mr. Chair, this does have applicability to the budget bill. I don't see why we wouldn't be able to ask about this.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
It does, but we've agreed by motion to turn certain sections over to the other committee. They will come back to us with or without recommendations. At that time we'll be in a position to debate it.
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON
It's not to debate it, but to question it.
Who are we going to be able to question on that, at that time?
Liberal
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON
This is going to become a big problem if you don't allow some questioning on major sections of the budget during the finance committee.
Conservative
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON
The budget is primarily the responsibility of the finance committee. In particular, taxation matters are the purview of the finance committee.
If you'd frankly allowed me to ask three or four questions, you probably could have dealt with this a lot more quickly, but you're going to have to face the problem now.
There are some very serious financial questions around the application of sales tax to the overall carbon tax. They are financial in nature. There would be no harm done if you were to allow members of this committee to ask some of those questions of the officials while they are here. Absent that, I don't know how we can proceed with a study of the rest of the bill, because frankly, we would be excluding from our conversation elements of fiscal and taxation policy that are clearly the purview of the finance committee.
There's nothing that would preclude the environment committee from asking similar questions, or even the same ones. That's why I said “belt and suspenders”. I don't think there's any Canadian out there who's going to be concerned that we overstudy the matter.
You can pull up any motion you want. The reality is that we have the right to ask these financial questions in the finance committee. Failure to allow that inhibits my ability to do my job in scrutinizing this massive omnibus bill that is before this committee and other committees.
