March 2007 Newsletter

Highlights from the Provincial Budget

• Extension of Remittance Date Effective April 1, 2007, the due date for remitting tax returns and payments under the Social Service Tax Act and the Hotel Room Tax Act is extended from the 15^th day to the 23^rd day of the month. For example, tax collected or that becomes payable in March 2007 is due on or before April 23, 2007. This responds to complaints from businesses of all sizes that the current remittance period of 15 days is too short.
• Tax Return Reporting Frequency Effective February 21, 2007, the threshold for reporting less frequently than monthly is increased under the Social Service Tax Act and the Hotel Room Tax Act. Business with annual tax remittances of $12,000 or less may qualify for quarterly, semi annual or annual reporting frequencies, depending on the amount of tax remitted, the nature of the business and compliance history. The increase from the previous threshold of $8,400 for less frequent remittances will provide greater flexibility for many small businesses to match their tax reporting frequency to their business needs.
• Audit Assessment Period Reduced Effective February 21, 2007, audit assessment limitation periods are reduced to four years from six years under the Social Service Tax Act, Hotel Room Tax Act, Motor Fuel Tax Act and Tobacco Tax Act. All tax assessments issued on or after February 21, 2007 will be limited to a maximum of four years, including assessments related to audits that began before February 21, 2007 but are not yet completed. The four year limitation period does not apply in cases of fraud, for which there is no limitation period. All businesses in the province, including over 100,000 businesses registered to collect tax, will benefit from this initiative which reduces the impact of inadvertent error and the amount of potential tax liabilities.
• Record Retention Period Reduced Effective February 21, 2007, record retention periods are reduced to five years from seven years under the Social Service Tax Act, Hotel Room Tax Act, Motor Fuel Tax Act and Tobacco Tax Act. This change is consequential to the reduction in the audit assessment period and reduces the record keeping burden for over 100,000 businesses that collect and remit tax as well as for other persons carrying on business in the province.

The BCYHA is a supporting partner of the BC Restaurant Hall of Fame Gala again in 2007. The BC Restaurant Hall of Fame celebrates and promotes excellence in BC’s culinary traditions; pays tribute to the outstanding individuals, past and present, who have shaped this sector of the hospitality sector. The gala will be held at the Parkview Terrace, Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre on Monday, April 23. For more information, or to reserve your tickets to this event, please call: 604-861-0728

Recruitment of employees continues to become a greater challenge, as the competition for workers increases. Hoteliers must adapt new recruitment and retention strategies in order to remain competitive. We encourage you to learn more about our new Foreign Worker Program, "Room Service Canada."

Please visit http://www.roomservicecanada.ca/ for more information,