Case Study
A Taxing Ordeal
A New Brunswick man was employed in Ontario on a contract in 2003. He purchased a new vehicle in July 2003, just prior to returning home, and paid Ontario retail sales tax of $1,529. In order to register and obtain licence plates for the vehicle in New Brunswick, he was also required to pay sales tax there. Due to financial circumstances, he delayed doing so until June 2004.
When he applied to Ontario’s Ministry of Finance for a sales tax refund, on the basis that the vehicle had been taken out of Ontario permanently within 30 days of being purchased, the Ministry rejected the claim because the vehicle had not been registered in New Brunswick within 30 days – in fact, it had been almost a year.
After three years of trying to convince the Ministry that despite this delay, he was still eligible for a sales tax refund, the man complained to the Ombudsman. In response to Ombudsman staff inquiries, the Ministry reviewed the man’s file and finally agreed to give him his $1,529 refund.