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e-2943 (Taxation)
Original language of petition: French
Petition to the Minister of National Revenue
- The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced on September 8, 2020, that osteopathic care will now be subject to the GST and QST, and this decision will also be implemented by Revenu Québec for harmonization purposes;
- Osteopathy is health care according to the Government of Quebec and is being recognized as an essential service during the pandemic;
- The CRA’s decision will penalize hundreds of thousands of Canadians who receive care from osteopaths, both financially and in terms of access to health care;
- The CRA’s decision affects osteopaths only, as the health care provided by other health professionals governed by a professional body in Quebec is not subject to any taxation;
- Including osteopaths within a professional body would prevent osteopathic services from being subject to the GST and QST, like all other health care services provided by a professional governed by the Quebec Professional Code; and
- On October 21, 2020, the Government of Quebec signaled its firm desire to oversee the practice of osteopathy in Quebec by launching a public consultation to this end.
Response by the Minister of National Revenue
Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) extends its thanks to the petitioners for expressing their views regarding the imposition of tax on osteopathic care provided in Québec.
The role of the CRA is to administer the tax system and to apply the legislation, including the Excise Tax Act (ETA) which governs Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST). The Department of Finance Canada is responsible for developing federal tax policy and amendments to the legislation, including establishing eligibility criteria for health services to be GST/HST exempt.
Generally, for a health care service to be exempt of GST/HST, two conditions must be met. The first condition is to have the type of health care service listed in the ETA and the second is to have a practitioner render that service. The Act defines the word “practitioner”. This definition requires a person to be licensed to practise the profession in the province or territory, or to have qualifications that would be equivalent to those required to have a license.
In the Act, there is an exemption for osteopathic services, but only when the services are rendered by a practitioner. At the present time, the profession of manual osteopathy is not regulated in any province or territory of Canada. Please note that the expression “manual osteopathy” is used to avoid confusing the practice of osteopathy by a osteopathic physician who is a member of a College of Physicians whose supplies are exempt and the practice of osteopathy by a non-member of such College.
The creation of a professional body for osteopaths is within a provincial jurisdiction.
The CRA’s Excise and GST/HST News - No. 108 contains more information regarding the application of GST/HST to manual osteopathic services.
November 23, 2020 (Petition No. 432-00261)
