Canada: Saskatchewan provincial sales tax on e-services

The Canadian province of Saskatchewan imposed its provincial sales tax (PST) on electronic services in January 2019.

PST is a local sales tax that applies to taxable goods and services purchased or consumed in Saskatchewan as well as those imported into the province. Saskatchewan’s PST rate is currently set at 6%.

The taxable definition of e-services includes income for foreign providers of: streaming services or downloadable media, e-learning, apps, games and online gaming, e-books and periodicals, dating websites, SaaS, and membership to online associations.

PST is charged in addition to the federal government’s goods and services tax (GST). However, Canada is yet to impose GST on e-services. Quebec introduced its provincial sales tax, QST, on e-services on the same date as Saskatchewan.

Foreign businesses and service providers (non residents) are required to register with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Finance to file and remit collected PST.

Providers will have to track and identify the location of the user to determine if PST is due. Generally, this may be determined by one of the following:

• IP address within the state

• Credit card number issued in state

• The postal address of the user