Major Ontario provincial changes for 2012

The taxable income thresholds in all three Ontario provincial tax brackets and most provincial non-refundable tax credit amounts were increased by 3.3% in 2012, reflecting changes to Canada’s consumer price index (CPI) in Ontario.

Commercial activity

Commercial activity means any business or adventure or concern in the nature of trade carried on by a person, but does not include:

Calendar quarter

Calendar quarter means a period of thress consecutive calendar months ending on the last day of the following months: March, June, September, and December.

How to determine the effective date of GST/HST registration

If you are a small supplier, GST/HST registration is optional. But you have no choice but to register if you are no longer a small supplier. The effective date of your GST/HST registration depends on when you go over the small supplier threshold amount of $30,000. Here are two typical scenarios:

Small supplier

Small supplier refers to a person whose revenue from worldwide taxable supplies was equal to or less than $30,000 ($50,000 for public service bodies) in a calendar quarter and over the last four consecutive calendar quarters.

Zero-rated supplies

Zero-rated supplies are supplies of goods and services that are taxable at the rate of 0%. This means there is no GST/HST charged on the supply of these goods and services, but GST/HST registrants can claim ITCs for the GST/HST paid or payable on purchases and expenses made to provide them.