BC Budget 2018/19 – Changes to PST Rules on Software

The British Columbia Provincial Government released its BC Budget and Fiscal Plan for 2018/19

While there are not many significant changes to the Provincial Sales Tax Act, they did provide one salient point regarding software maintenance agreements:

“Effective retroactive to April 1, 2013, the Provincial Sales Tax Act is amended to clarify that provincial sales tax applies to software provided in optional as-needed maintenance agreements.”

The rules regarding software purchase, customization, support and maintenance continue to be complex. While this clarifies a particular area, there are numerous other areas where exemptions may apply to your organization in the area of software, hardware and IT. This continues to be a large area of expenditure for organizations and one in which we find significant refund opportunities.