The Canadian Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) earlier in the year applied GST for the use of shared recreational facilities in a Mississauga phased condominium. The government felt that the fees contributed by the corporations for their share of the recreational centre costs, should be subject to GST. The Mississauga condominium brought it to the attention of their auditor who alerted us.

CCI National immediately funded a consultant through a major accounting firm to address this issue. After an initial meeting with CCRA, the CCI were advised that the government would consider dropping the application of GST, if we could provide more information as to how many condominiums would be affected detrimentally. Using CCI contacts throughout the country the CCI gathered the requested information. The majority were in Ontario, where phased developments with recreational centres are more common.

Our consultant met with GST officials recently to present the data we gathered. Based upon our representations, the CCRA agreed to exempt recreational centre contributions from GST. This is a fine example of the lobbying power of the CCI and what your support provides.

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