Tips and Taxes
There are several hidden costs to take into account when travelling round Canada. Tips and service are generally not added to restaurant bills; it's usual to leave fifteen percent, even after the cheapest meals. More importantly, though, virtually all prices in Canada for everything from bubblegum to hotel rooms are quoted without tax . This means the price you see quoted is rarely the price you pay, and round-figures prices of things costing, say, $5 or $55, end up being ludicrous sums like $5.63 or $59.94. There are both national and provincial taxes. The dreaded Goods and Services Tax (GST) - the equivalent of VAT in Europe - is a nationwide seven-percent charge levied on most goods and services, including hotel and restaurant bills. All provinces except Alberta, the Yukon and NWT levy a Provincial Sales Tax (PST) of five to ten percent on most goods and services, including hotel accommodation; only visitors to Quebec (where it's called TVQ), Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland can currently apply for a rebate - claim forms are supplied by tourist offices (the rebate situation changes from time to time, and some other provinces may start to offer rebates to keep their visitors sweet). A so-called Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), a fifteen-percent combination of GST and PST, applies in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Labrador and Newfoundland. Most provinces also have a hotel rooms' tax of up to ten percent. The net result is that you can end up paying something like seventeen percent over the listed price for hotel rooms in some parts of the country. As a small mercy, visitors can claim a rebate of GST on certain goods over the value of $3.50 if they're for use outside Canada and removed from the country within sixty days. More significantly, a GST rebate is available for accommodation expenditure over $100 during a maximum period of one month. Claim forms are available at many hotels, shops and airports or from any Canadian embassy. Return them, with all original receipts , to the address given on the form. People leaving by land to the US can claim their rebate at selected border duty-free shops. The amounts can add up, so it's worth thinking about. For more information call 902/432-5608 (outside Canada) or tel 1-800/668-4748 (within Canada).
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Your Tip for Canada
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