Quote:
Originally Posted by AnotherCat
In NZ GST is applied to essentially every common good and service except financial transactions (so one does not pay GST on purchases of company shares, for example); nor on second hand goods in order to avoid multiple taxing of the same good through its useful life (so a house buyer pays GST on a house just built, but not on second hand houses). GST fraud in NZ is very low and there is little chance of evasion by wrongly categorizing goods; and there is a very high level of acceptance here that this is the way it should be. Australia exempts some goods, mainly basic foods (there may be others, but foods serves this example) which muddies the waters as it can be unclear or contorted to be unclear as to what category the good is in.
|
In Canada, GST can get a little weird. Basic groceries are GST exempt but if I buy one of a prepared food product, it's GST taxable while buying 6 of them makes the purchase GST exempt (single use vs. multiple use). A uncooked chicken is not taxable while a rotisserie chicken is. Milk at the grocery store is not taxed but the same container of milk at McDonald's is taxed.