Information Regarding GST
GST needs to be added to all Qwanoes summer camps and retreats.
Please add 5% GST to our posted summer camp and retreat fees.
If you are interested...the following provides background as to why we charge GST.
Did Qwanoes charge GST on camp fees in the past?
Prior to January 2007, since the formation of GST in Canada in 1991, Camp Qwanoes and the majority of camps did not charge GST on summer camp and retreat fees.
Why did Qwanoes not charge GST on camp fees prior to January 2007?
It was our position that the GST legislation was very clear that GST did not apply to Qwanoes as well as to most camps. This belief was shared by the majority of camps in Canada, as well as by the Canadian Council of Christian Charities. In addition, in 1991 Camp Qwanoes asked Revenue Canada to clarify whether we needed to charge GST. Revenue Canada responded with a letter to Qwanoes in June 1991 that makes it clear that we did not have to charge GST.
For your information, when the GST was introduced the intent was that it would not apply to most charities.
Why did Qwanoes begin charging GST on summer camp and retreat fees as of January 2007?
Since 1998, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) began attempting to collect GST revenue from camps, stating that in their opinion camps should have been charging it. In 1998 CRA went after a camp called “Kahquah.” But, the Tax Court ruled against CRA, upholding the principle that camps such as Qwanoes did not have to charge GST.
CRA was not happy with this decision. They filed an appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal but then discontinued it. CRA then tried unsuccessfully to persuade the Ministry of Finance to propose an amendment to the law to overturn the Kahquah decision.
To try to overturn the law, CRA then went after another camp as a test case, a Christian camp in Ontario called Camp Mini-Yo-We. In September 2005, the Tax Court ruled in favor of CRA, despite the precedent set with the Kahquah case. Unfortunately, in his ruling the judge did not provide a reason why one decision was made with Kahquah and a different decision was made with Mini-Yo-We. Although the Tax Court judge and the lawyers for both parties agreed that the cases were indistinguishable on the facts, the judge concluded without reasons that they were distinguishable. In giving his decision, the judge displayed negative feelings towards camps similar to Camp Qwanoes.
With the support of the Canadian Council of Christian Charities, Camp Mini-Yo-We appealed this decision to the Federal Court of Appeal. A decision was made on this appeal in late December 2006. The appeal failed. The result is that Qwanoes is now forced to charge GST on fees for summer camps and retreats.
By the way, as you can imagine, these cases resulted in significant costs to the above camps.
Is there anything that I can do to help?
If you feel that charitable camps should not have to charge GST, please contact the local office of your Member of Parliament http://www.parl.gc.ca/. Or, contact Bill Morneau, the Minister of Finance at bill.morneau@parl.gc.ca.
We continue to empathize with the parents, grand-parents, and friends of our campers who are now having to pay GST on each camper’s fee.