Definition:
In the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and British Columbia, a harmonized sales tax replaces both the five percent federal goods and services tax (GST) and the provincial sales tax and is applied on the same basis as the GST. In Nova Scotia the HST is 15 percent; in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Ontario the HST is 13 percent; in British Columbia the HST is 12 percent.
In August 2011, BC Voters Rejected the HST. No firm date has been announced for British Columbia to change back to a PST/GST tax system, but it will take at least 18 months.
