In general, when a business pays for an expense (e.g., business start-up costs, rent, professional fees) they also pay GST/HST on that expense. Subsequently, they can apply for Input Tax Credits (ITC) to recover the GST/HST paid. However, upon review/audit, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is relatively strict concerning the information and documents required to support ITCs claimed.
Source: sdtaxlaw.ca
