Sadly the HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) will become law on July 1, 2010. Worse is that the Ontario government has implemented transition provisions where payments made before July 1 but for services rendered after July 1, 2010 will be subject the HST. The HST, in Ontario, amounts to 13% on top of the cost of goods and services including immigration services. The soon to be defunct GST amounted only to a 5% surcharge.
The only exemption would be where we are retained by individuals or companies located outside of Canada. In this case, there would be no HST applied on top of legal fees.
So if you are considering hiring an immigration lawyer, now may be the time to do it before the HST comes in to effect.
President & CEO
Michael Niren
Mr. Niren is CEO of VisaPlace LLC and the President and Managing Partner of VisaPlace Legal Canada, an immigration law firm based in Toronto, and VisaPlace Legal US a law firm registered in The District of Columbia, USA. Mr. Niren is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association’s Citizenship and Immigration Section, American Lawyers Association, and an Associate Member of the American Bar Association.
