QUEEN’S PARK – The Ontario government is moving to simplify the process of purchasing tax-exempt gasoline on reserve. As of January 1, First Nation individuals will no longer need to use the certificate of exemption (aka Ontario Gas Card) to prove their entitlement. At the start of next year, a Certificate of Indian Status or Secure Certificate of Indian Status Cards (aka status cards) issued by Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) to a person registered as an Indian under the provisions of the Indian Act will suffice. A Temporary Confirmation of Registration Document, also issued by ISC, will also be accepted.
Band councils will use a unique identifier number that will be issued by the government of Ontario to establish their tax exemptions status.
According to a government release, using a status card as proof of entitlement for the tax exemption will support the government’s 2016 budget commitments to use a more secure card and to improve customer service and program integrity.
The release notes that the proposed amendment to the regulations do not include modernizing the current technological solution used by some on-reserve retailers to process the gasoline tax exemption. The government continues to work towards identifying and implementing the best technological solution to make it faster and easier for authorized on-reserve gasoline retailers to receive their refunds, notes the release.
There are no fees or up front operating costs required by the amendments, but some authorized on-reserve gasoline retailers who request tax refunds electronically from the Ministry of Finance will need to update the software for the point of sale system. The ministry is working with third party service providers to implement the updates at “no or minimal cost to the retailers.”
According to provincial government’s information on the changes, the proposal is expected to have “minimal or no impact on First Nation individuals and their ability to purchase tax-exempt gasoline on-reserve.”
The simplification makes a lot of sense on the face of it. Entitlement for the Ontario Gas Card is currently determined based on that First Nation individual having been issued a status card, meaning that current Ontario Gas Card holders must already be in possession of a status card to have qualified for the gas card.
Using status cards addresses the concern that needing two cards to qualify for the tax exemption is both unfair and onerous when the province could use a card that is already used by First Nation individuals.
Impacts to on-reserve retailers should be more operational in nature. Instead of using the Ontario Gas Card to verify entitlement for the exemption, retailers simply verify status cards, Temporary Confirmation of Registration Document or the unique identifier issued to a band by simply using the same manual or electronic methods they currently use.
