Manitoba Finance has recently updated this very useful bulletin which provides summary information on the tax status of various types of goods and services under The Retail Sales Tax Act. The latest additions, many of which relate to changes announced in the last provincial budget, include:
- an exemption for radio equipment permanently installed into an ambulance;
- an exemption for repairs and other services to direct agents and dies, jigs, moulds and patterns that are used directly in manufacturing processes;
- an exemption for welding tips and laser or plasma nozzles used to produce goods or services for sale;
- exemptions for electricity and natural or piped gas purchased and used solely for heating the purchaser’s dwelling, heating or cooling farm buildings, or for drying crops;
- an exemption for non-prescription smoking cessation products;
- a reference to the reduced retail sales tax rate of 1.4 per cent that is available for electricity and piped gas purchased and used for a combination of taxable and exempt uses, as well as electricity used directly to operate machinery and equipment in manufacturing, mining or at a completed well site to produce oil or gas;
- a clarification that the province considers “assembling”, “disassembling” and “uninstalling” of taxable goods to be taxable services;
- a notation that the testing of food and beverages for human consumption is considered to be an exempt service; and
- a confirmation that motor vehicle safety inspections, when performed as a requirement for vehicle registration, are an exempt service.