General Informatiion Concerning the QST and the GST/HST - Ryan

Glossary
The key terms below are used in this booklet. Their definitions are based largely on those provided
in the Excise Tax Act and the Act respecting the Québec sales tax.
Charity
A registered charity or a registered Canadian amateur athletic association within the meaning
assigned by the Income Tax Act and the Taxation Act. For GST and QST purposes, if a charity is also a
school authority, public college, university, hospital authority or local authority that is a municipality,
it is not considered a charity but a public institution.
Commercial activity
Any activity carried on in order to make taxable sales. The making of exempt sales does not constitute
a commercial activity.
Consideration
The value given in exchange on the sale of a good or service. It corresponds to an amount of
money or to the fair market value of the good or service. In calculating the GST, the QST is not
included in the consideration. However, the GST must be included in the consideration for purposes
of calculating the QST.
In this booklet, we also use the term “amount” since money is the most common form of
consideration.
Fair market value
The highest price that can be obtained in an open market where the buyer and the seller are well
informed, are dealing at arm’s length, and are not forced to buy or sell.
Property
Includes real property and personal property, whether tangible or intangible, but does not include
money.
The terms used to refer to property are different for QST purposes than for GST purposes. In this
booklet, we chose to use the GST terms for ease of understanding. The GST terms and their QST
equivalents are listed below.
GST QST
Real property Immovable property
Personal property Movable property
Tangible (personal) property Corporeal (movable) property
Intangible (personal) property Incorporeal (movable) property
General Information Concerning the QST and the GST/HST
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