Sales taxes in Canada

In Canada there are three types of sales taxes: provincial sales taxes or PST, the federal Goods and Services Tax or GST, and the Harmonized Sales Tax or HST.
Every province except Alberta implements a Provincial Sales Tax or the Harmonized Sales Tax. The Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut do not have any type of regional sales tax. The federal GST rate is 5% effective January 1, 2008.
[edit] Harmonized Sales TaxMain article: Harmonized Sales TaxThe Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) is used in certain provinces to combine the federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) into a single, blended, sales tax. Currently, there is a 13% HST in the provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia. The HST is collected by the Canada Revenue Agency, which then remits the appropriate amounts to the participating provinces,.
[edit] Provincial Sales TaxesSeparate Provincial Sales Taxes (PST) are collected in the provinces of British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Prince Edward Island. Goods to which the tax is applied varies by province, as does the rate. Moreover, for those provinces whose provincial sales tax is applied to the combined cost and GST, provincial revenues decline or increase with respective changes in the GST.
Province rate (%) combined fed./prov. rate (%) note Alberta 0 5 Alberta has no provincial sales tax British Columbia 7 12 Officially known as the Social Service Tax [1] Reduced from 7.5% Oct 2004 Alcohol is taxed at 10% [2] Saskatchewan 5 10 Reduced from 7% on 28 October 2006 [3] There is a separate 10% liquor consumption tax Manitoba 7 12 Ontario 8 13 PST is usually 8%, but is 5% on lodging, 10% on entertainment and alcohol at restaurants, and 12% on alcohol at retail stores [4] Quebec 7.5 12.875 Provincial rate is nominally 7.5%, but is also applied to the federal 5% GST so effectively 7.875% Prince Edward Island 10 15.5 Provincial rate is nominally 10%, but is also applied to the federal 5% GST so effectively 10.5% New Brunswick 13 *Harmonized Sales Tax includes provincial tax and GST Newfoundland and Labrador 13 Nova Scotia 13