APRIL 2006
VOLUME 18, NUMBER 2
SST Chaos for Lawyers and Clients Get rid of the tax, says CBABC president penalized for holding the monies in trust until the very month, the lawyers of B.C. are required to collect from clients about $10 guidelines come out. million dollars in government tax on legal Lawyers in B.C. are confused and frustrated with services. That's more than $300,000 every the current state of affairs. The added administrative day of the year, taken out of the economy directly burden is a serious hardship for small firms and sole from the pockets of individuals and businesses. practitioners in particular, who make up the majority Right now, untold millions of dollars are in legal of the B.C. Bar. "Everyone's tired of collecting a tax limbo, sitting in trust accounts around the province. that makes no sense," said CBABC President Meg The amount grows every day. Meanwhile, the Shaw. "No other professional service is taxed by the government of B.C. is taking its fight to keep the tax province in B.C., and no other province singles out to the Supreme Court of Canada. The Canadian Bar legal services for a tax - in Alberta and Ontario, our Association will be intervening in that case on behalf closest competitors, access to justice is not subject to provincial tax at all." of the profession. The tax was declared unconstitutional in part in In March, the CBA commissioned and publicly the Christie cross-appeal decision, but that decision released an economist's report that bolsters the case was later made subject to a partial stay pending the for scrapping the tax. The CBA and B.C.'s Chamber government's SCC appeal. Lawyers are now required of Commerce jointly issued a news release stating to collect the tax on all legal services, but to hold it in trust in some cases and remit it to "Lawyers are confused and frustrated government in others. The question is: which with the current state of affairs." legal services fall into which category? . The tax has been declared unconstitutional "to the extent that it purports to tax legal services that it is absurd for the government to continue related to the determination of rights and obligations to collect a tax that MLAs, the courts, businesses, by courts of law or . independent administrative and economists have all acknowledged as unfair tribunals." The government has said it will release and discriminatory. guidelines to provide direction to lawyers about what Said President Shaw: "Our message to B.C.'s kinds of services do and don't fall under the Christie government and Opposition members is simple: decision and subsequent partial stay. The Law Do the right thing for B.C. - remove the tax on legal Society has confirmed that lawyers will not be fees- now!" BT
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The Canadian Bar Association British Columbia
www.cba.org/bc