Province reduces HST rate beginning April 1

CITYnews halifax / By Natasha O’Neill.

Nova Scotia is reducing the harmonized sales tax (HST) rate by one percentage point starting April 1, a memo from the premier’s office reads.

“This will be the largest tax break in Nova Scotia’s history. It’s the first time in 14 years that a provincial government in Nova Scotia has made changes to the sales tax. And this time it will be a decrease,” Premier Tim Houston said in a release.

According to the province, the HST combines the provincial value-added tax with the goods and services tax (GST) and is applied to the same products. The federal portion is 5 per cent and next year, the provincial portion will decrease from 10 to 9 per cent.

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The combined sales tax rate in Nova Scotia will be 14 per cent. The rest of Atlantic Canada and Ontario also have a HST rate.

“Now in addition to indexing the personal income tax, we’re lowering the HST rate to help people who are struggling with the cost of living and additional taxes from the federal government,” Houston said.