Raise GST/HST threshold
Petitioners ask the Minister of Finance to raise the $30,000 mandatory GST/HST registration threshold to reflect CPI inflation since the 1990s.
Why we would sign this petition
- Restores the $30,000 threshold's real value by indexing it to CPI, preventing small startups from becoming GST/HST registrants due solely to inflation.
- Reduces administrative and compliance burdens for microbusinesses that remain below an inflation-adjusted threshold, easing early-stage costs.
- Promotes perceived fairness by aligning tax rules with currency value changes since the 1990s, which petitioners argue disadvantage new firms.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Raising the threshold could reduce GST/HST revenue or shift tax burdens, affecting public finances or services.
- Indexing the threshold adds complexity to tax rules and requires administrative updates and ongoing reviews.
- A blanket inflation adjustment may be blunt; targeted supports or exemptions might better assist startups without altering the national threshold.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the Minister of Finance and National Revenue On January 1, 1991, the Canadian Government introduced the Goods and Services Tax (GST); From that day forward, a ‘small supplier’ was, and still is, considered to be a business whose gross income does not exceed the appointed threshold of $30,000 Canadian dollars. If an entrepreneur does not generate a revenue larger than the appointed threshold, he/she is not obligated to obtain a Business Number (BN) for tax purposes; Over time, inflation has reduced the real value of our national currency. The application of expansionary fiscal policies contributes to the devaluation of the Canadian dollar which reduces the Canadian resident’s purchasing power; Since, the real value of money decreased, the cost of conducting business became noticeably expensive; and Nevertheless, the GST/HST registration threshold remains the same. We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Minister of Finance and National Revenue to adjust the $30,000 threshold for mandatory GST/HST registration in Canada in accordance with the changes of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) between 1990’s and present time thus, reinforcing the sense of justice for all Canadian startup companies.
Government response
No government response is available yet.