TORONTO — Ontario Trucking Association president David Bradley welcomed the introduction in the Ontario Legislature of legislation enacting the government’s proposed new harmonized tax system.

Bradley was particularly pleased to note that according to the government’s background material, as part of the transition to the HST and wind-down of the RST, the Multi-Jurisdictional Tax (MJVT) will also be wound down and that under the transition rules the MJVT would simply no longer apply to renewals or new registrations under the IRP on or after July 1, 2010.

“For the Ontario trucking industry the fact that the government has moved forward on its budget commitment to harmonize the provincial sales tax with the federal goods and services tax starting next year is extremely good news,” Bradley said. “OTA has been seeking this announcement for a number of years and it’s been a key recommendation of virtually every OTA pre-budget submission this decade. The introduction of the legislation today is great news for the industry.”

In addition, trucks would no longer be subject to RST (exit tax) when they cease to be registered under the IRP on or after July 1, 2010.

"OTA has had the opportunity to work closely with the government on the transition rules and we had made the case that the fairest way to wind down the MJVT was to do so without imposing any exit tax on those vehicles already in the MJVT system," Bradley said. "This is a huge win for the OTA and the trucking industry; it will save fleets with trucks registered in IRP about $2000 per vehicle.”

Early next year, OTA will be hosting webinars with the appropriate government officials regarding transitional rules impacting members and tax filing requirements under the HST post July 1, 2010.

B.C. moved forward with similar legislation this year, which although it was unpopular among many businesses, did receive support from the B.C. Trucking Association.