B.C. is now collecting the PST on tobacco products, including cigars, chewing tobacco, raw tobacco and cigarette packs.
A $15.99 cigarette pack with the tobacco taxes will now cost seven per cent more than before, or $1.12 extra a pack. The tax began on July 1.
“We are moving in line with other provinces to make sure we collect PST on tobacco products,” Selina Robinson said, B.C.’s finance minister.
The province is exempting e-cigarettes and vaping juices in a push to get smokers to quit.
Canada Day also marks a shift to collecting PST from online marketplaces like Amazon and Ebay.
The seven per cent tax must be submitted from companies with revenues greater than $10,000 a year, shifting the tax burden off of individual sellers to the retailer.
The province is expecting $100 million in the next year in provincial revenues.
“It makes sure we have a fair and level playing field. if you have a bricks and mortar, you remit taxes, and it should be the same for these online marketplaces,” Robinson said.
Commissions from food delivery apps or Google priority ads will also now have PST, but it is a change the Canadian Retail Council is concerned about.
“This is the only jurisdiction that has this and our prices will be a little bit larger than other places,” said Greg Wilson, Retail Council of Canada’s government relations director.
“It makes small businesses less competitive.”