Nova Scotia to Lower Harmonized Sales Tax by 1% in 2025, Impact on Provincial Revenues

• Nova Scotia plans to reduce the provincial portion of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) from 10% to 9% in 2025
• This would result in a new combined HST rate of 14%
• The last rate change in the province was in 2010 when the combined HST rate increased from 13% to 15%
• Transitional rules will be provided to determine which rate applies to transactions straddling the implementation date
• The province has given notice to the federal government and legislative amendments will be required
• The rate reduction is expected to reduce provincial revenues by approximately CA$260.8m in the 2025-26 fiscal year
• There is speculation that an early provincial election may be called, as the opposition had previously proposed a larger reduction in the HST rate.

Source: globaltaxnews.ey.com

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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