(Image credit: CFJC Today/File photo).

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Having to pay PST on used vehicles is discriminatory and unfair

Nov 29, 2022 | 5:11 AM

USED CAR DEALERS must be shaking their heads these days as they try to figure out the provincial government’s new rules on how to charge PST on second-hand vehicles.

But pity the hapless purchaser who has to pay it.

Under the new regulations, PST on a used vehicle must be paid on its estimated value according to the Canadian Black Book, one of the auto Bibles commonly used in determining prices. Previously, it was paid based on the actual selling price.

The change is an attempt to prevent private sales deals from under-stating the value of the vehicle in order to pay less tax. You know how that works: you sell me a car for a thousand dollars, but we declare the amount paid as a dollar. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

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So, OK, the Province has a point on that, but the big question is, why should tax be paid on a used vehicle at all? When a vehicle is purchased brand new, we pay tax on it. Each and every time it’s sold after that, tax is paid again.

That’s double, triple, or quadruple dipping by the government and it’s not fair. Any government that has just chocked up a $5-billion surplus doesn’t have to resort to such money grabs.

Supposedly, the PST on used vehicles is a transaction fee collected by government for some sort of service it provides the buyer. If anyone can tell me what service, the government is giving us I’d like to know.
Charging PST on old cars is also discriminatory. If you can afford $60,000 for a new car, you can probably afford the tax. If you can’t afford to pay new-car prices, and have to make do with something that was pre-owned, paying tax on top of the purchase price is going to hurt a lot more.

We pay enough taxes as it is. This is one we shouldn’t have to pay.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.