PST in BC
 

Hi there,
quick question for any wedding videographers in british columbia.
i have called the provincial tax office three times about this. i was told twice that i need to charge PST and once that i don't need to. then one client told me that another videographer said that they don't charge PST. so my question is... do you charge PST?

I can't speak for Canada, and I'm assuming PST is some type of sales tax, but I had the same problem here in my state. I talked to 2 different auditors at our state tax commission and got completely different answers regarding sales tax on weddings. I decided just to charge sales tax to be safe.

Hey Oscar, I'm in Manitoba and I was told I need to charge PST, photographers have to and we pretty much fall under the same category.

There is confusion where I am also (Utah, US). It appears that the decision comes down to whether you provide a service or a product. If you provide a service - for example, if you film a wedding and then give them a DVD of the service you performed, then there is no sales tax. If you provide a product - for example, if you sell them a DVD of their wedding that you filmed, then you charge sales tax. See how it can be confusing! Are they paying for the filming/production or the DVD? Of course both parts are necessary for the total package, so there is no easy answer. I know of some that don't charge for the wedding filming and production but charge tax on the value of the DVD itself ($30 for example).

I thought about doing that. Having a separate contract for filming and the DVD sale, but then I realized that if I was ever audited then it would probably look like I was trying to avoid collecting sales tax. I went with just charging sales tax on the whole package and I can honestly say I've never had anyone complain. People are used to paying sales tax.

I'm in Ontario and my accountant claims that I only have to charge PST to my clients. I will have to charge GST once I have exceeded $33000 in total sales. Might not be the same but that is what the accountant claims,.

Yeah I forgot to mention that, same here in Manitoba, once I exceed 30kish I also have to charge GST

I already know about the GST.
I registered for the GST so that I can get all the GST I pay on my equipment back.
It's the whole PST thing that is confusing.
I am charging PST just to be on the safe side.