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[Phronesis]

I was in the market to find a used car and saw this news
- https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-used-car-buyers-furious-over-provincial-tax-changes-1.6663587

They charge PST on what they "think" is the value of the car rather than the actual purchase price.
like wtf, its already a bad situation to live a normal life and govt instead of helping wants to make it more difficult for us commoners !

Many other countries dont even have taxes on used cars from private sale. Even US has low average tax on used cars at around 5 %

Even the tax slabs on income need to be refreshed, their definition of low income is 21k per annum !! you cant even pay rent or eat properly with 35k income. Rich folks get to enjoy the tax loopholes while commoners take the burden.........its so messed up

Petition links below-
1. https://www.change.org/p/share-and-sign-no-donation-required-stop-the-unfair-tax-imposed-on-used-vechiles-on-british-columbians-it-is-gouging-us
2. https://www.taxpayer.com/petitions/no-pst-on-used-items-in-b.c


Other news article - https://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/local-news/petition-calls-for-end-to-bc-tax-grab-on-sale-of-used-goods-6218572

[Fish Assassin]

Another tax grab. Taxpayers should pay politicians for what we "think" they're worth.

[dennisK]

the worst is if you got to a certified used car "assessor" you have to pay $150 to get the lower value proven and you do not get that money back.

this needs to be challenged in court.

[RalphH]

this has been the case for decades. They may have decided to enforce it more stringently or when they brought the PST back it wasn't included in the regs. BTW the article incorrectly said the PST is 12%. It is 7%. Total sales taxes is 12% including GST at 5%

[Tylsie]

The real scam is that they use different book values to assess the tax on a sale vs the value of a payout if it's written off. There are three different "books" in Canada to obtain a value of the car; Edmunds, Kelly's Blue Book, and Canadian Black Book. You pay tax on the Canadian Black Book but should the vehicle ever get written off they use the Edmunds to determine value. On average, Edmunds values are half of the Black Book value, with Blue Book usually floating in the middle.

If the government states Black Book is the value of vehicle when it sold in BC that should be the only book they use;  not choosing the one that to suit your themselves

[RalphH]

well the blue book is wholesale value while the black book is retail. Both are based on what you can expect to get from a dealer either as a trade in or retail price. Private sales are usually lower than retail even if retailers may provide a discount.

[Phronesis]

News quote - "Changes bring B.C. in line with other provinces, says government" - if they wanted to be in line with other provinces then they should remove ICBC's monopoly too, bring in competition, but they wont - hypocrites

[Darko]

News quote - "Changes bring B.C. in line with other provinces, says government" - if they wanted to be in line with other provinces then they should remove ICBC's monopoly too, bring in competition, but they wont - hypocrites

btw ICBC reported 1.9 Billion in profits 2021- end march 2022... Crazy stuff, bcliquorstore makes over a B too...

[Tylsie]

well the blue book is wholesale value while the black book is retail. Both are based on what you can expect to get from a dealer either as a trade in or retail price. Private sales are usually lower than retail even if retailers may provide a discount.

Correct. But the issue is not what the book says. The issue is they are not being consistent. You could, in theory,  buy a vehicle, pay the tax on the black book value, insure it, walk out to see it in flames and they will offer you Edmunds book value on it. The books they use in a given scenario has been confirmed by ICBC.

On some vehicles there can be over a $10,000 discrepancy. If ICBC is going to dictate the value of car by the black book value, not by what I paid for it, when I am transfering it to my name they should use the same book when they transfer it out of my name into theirs.

[RalphH]

the issue is not what the book says. The issue is they are not being consistent. You could, in theory,  buy a vehicle, pay the tax on the black book value, insure it, walk out to see it in flames... they will offer you Edmunds book value on it.

that's right because a car loses significant value as soon as it is driven off the lot by a new owner. There are 2 different markets for cars so there are 2 different vehicle valuations. It's also no secret that values are often misrepresented in private sales. Both those books present averaged value across those different markets and not the value that 2 people agree on in a particular transaction. Still it would be interesting to know why there was a 500% spread between the value of that pickup between the black book value and what was paid. Was there something wrong with the it like body damage or the transmission needed repair? The books don't just provide a single value but also consider condition and mileage. It's not as simple as the article presents it.

[SuperBobby]

The whole thing is actually illegal.
Canadian tax laws are crystal clear that you pay tax on the agreed 'purchase price'. ICBC is forcing us to pay tax on a 'suggested or assumed value'.
Completely illegal, but even if it was taken to the supreme court, the judges in this province and country gave their balls away decades ago.
Corruption is so rampant in this world that no one has the strength or desire to even try. No one cares about honesty and integrity anymore...that goes triple for our politicians and lawmakers.

[fic]

I dislike this rule too. My son is going to grade 12 and I was going to sell him my old car for $1 because that's what he can afford.  Now I will just let him be the principle driver instead.

[RalphH]

I dislike this rule too. My son is going to grade 12 and I was going to sell him my old car for $1 because that's what he can afford.  Now I will just let him be the principle driver instead.

check is there are exemptions for gift transfers between immediate family...there used to be.

[RalphH]

The whole thing is actually illegal.
Canadian tax laws are crystal clear that you pay tax on the agreed 'purchase price'.

I am afraid that's not correct. Assessing actual values for tax purposes has been a problematic issue since taxes were introduced. For most legal purposes such as reporting requirements and tax liability the value basis is fair market value.

which tax act and what paragraph are you looking at?

[SuperBobby]

I am afraid that's not correct. Assessing actual values for tax purposes has been a problematic issue since taxes were introduced. For most legal purposes such as reporting requirements and tax liability the value basis is fair market value.

which tax act and what paragraph are you looking at?

Of course you'd be the one to argue this point.
You can't charge tax on an estimated value. Please show me where you think this is legal.