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RMTs must charge HST

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RMTs must charge HST
In B.C., the NDP has made a statement against RMTs' requirement to charge HST.

June 7, 2010  By Massage Therapy Canada




June 7, Vancouver B.C. – In B.C., the NDP has made a statement that people who suffer
from chronic diseases and need massage therapy are the latest to be hit by the harmonized
sales tax.

Health critic
Adrian Dix says massage therapists who treat people with diseases such as
multiple sclerosis will have to charge their patients the HST, pushing
treatment costs toward $100 an hour.

He says the government is imposing the tax despite warnings from patients and
health care professionals that it hurt those needing the treatment for chronic
illness.

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However, Finance Minister Colin Hansen says a health profession can’t be
exempted from federal tax unless it’s regulated in at least five provinces, and
massage therapists are only regulated in three  –
Ontario, Newfoundland
and British Columbia.

He says the government is providing a HST credit for low and modest income
people as well as increasing the basic personal amount tax credit.

Meanwhile, organizers of an anti-HST petition say they’ve now signed up 15 per
cent of registered voters in all but five of B.C.’s 85 ridings, five per cent
more than the minimum needed for the petition to succeed in getting either a
vote in the legislature or a referendum.


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