Policy Forum: Carrying On About Carrying On Business: A Response to "The GST/HST Obligations of Non-Resident E-Commerce Firms"

Abstract

Non-resident suppliers of digital products and services are not required to collect and remit goods and services tax (GST)/harmonized sales tax (HST) if they are not "carrying on business" in Canada. The term "carrying on business" in Canada is not defined in the legislation. Leaving aside policy arguments in favour of, or against, requiring such non-resident suppliers without a physical presence in Canada to register, the author of this article considers whether the current legal framework should be reinterpreted to require such suppliers to become registered for GST/HST on the basis of a purely digital presence. He addresses these issues by considering the textual, contextual, and purposive meaning of the term "carrying on business" (and its permutations) in the Excise Tax Act (Canada) (ETA). He concludes that while developments in other areas of law, such as conflict-of-laws jurisprudence, may expand the common-law meaning of "carrying on business" in a jurisdiction to include having a purely digital presence, the interpretive framework particular for tax statutes in Canada, and the specific use of the term in the ETA itself, lead to the conclusion that a specific change in law would be the more appropriate way to impose registration and collection obligations on such non-resident suppliers.