Like it or not, the provincial sales tax (PST) is coming back.
To help local businesses prepare, Clearwater and District Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a free seminar sponsored by the Ministry of Finance on Thursday, Mar. 14, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Clearwater Lodge.
“Early on, there were quite a few surprised people who couldn’t believe we were bringing it back,” said Dave Longman, who will present the seminar. “Now, people are starting to focus on it.”
Longman is the Ministry’s PST transition project director. As of the end of January he had completed more than 30 similar seminars across the province. By the end of March, when the PST is scheduled to begin, he expects he will have completed about 65.
Typically there are a wide variety of attendees at the seminars, he said. These can range from businesspeople who were familiar with the PST and who want to know about any changes, to neophytes who need help in all aspects of setting up for the tax.
For those who can’t make it to the seminar, or for those who want additional help, there is a good deal of information at the project’s website, www.pstinbc.ca. Longman said the easiest way to find it is to search for “return to PST” with Google.
There are also webinars being offered twice a week until the end of March.
A call center is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., five days a week, at 1-877-388-4440. The center will be open April 1, even though it is a statutory holiday, Longman added.