GST Exemption Fails for Montreal Property Investor, Says Tax Court

• The case held that GST exemptions for property depend on the property’s use at the time of sale, not on the buyer’s future plans.
• John Moseley bought a building with a residential second floor and an abandoned restaurant on the first floor; the first floor was taxable because it was not already residential.
• His plan to convert the restaurant into an apartment did not make the sale GST-exempt.
• The court also found another exemption did not apply because the first floor’s last use was commercial (a restaurant).
• Retroactive cancellation of his GST registration did not remove the GST assessment or penalty for failing to file.

Source: goodservicetax.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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