I was thinking today that there is a lot of fear of and dislike for the upcoming HST, but then actually upon more thought, I think that there is mostly just apathy and confusion. We are an accepting bunch of grumblers in Canada. We shut up and put up mostly. Just like when the GST arrived, way back when, we grumbled and fretted a bit and then got on with it. It’s true that consumers are going to take the hit, but just like then, life goes on surprisingly smoothly.
Lets make clear what the HST means to us (in terms of real estate). How much is this going to hurt?
Long story short, when you buy or sell a house it will add about $1500 to the cost of the transaction.
The HST is a tax on services, not on houses.
The services that are subject to HST are the following:
* Legal fees (buyers and sellers)
* Moving costs (buyers and sellers)
* Real estate commission (sellers)
* Chattels (IE appliances) (buyers)
* High ratio insurance premiums (buyers)
* Fire insurance premiums (buyers)
* Home inspection fees (buyers)
* Appraisal fees (buyers)
* Surveys (buyers)
* Title Insurance (buyers)
